Aftershock
by Vodid
Summary: After an exploration mission on Earth, Ratchet learns that the Allspark lies in the planet. Almost twenty years later, the Autobots return and find Sam Witwicky. But had also found another person of interest to them; a seemingly organic female. What ties does she have to the Autobots? After getting caught up in the mess of Mission City, she soon finds out for herself. Ironhide/OC
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 _August 14, 1988_

"This is Ratchet from Earth, Chief Medical Officer of the Autobots, to Teletraan-I, does anyone copy?"

 _"This is Arcee from Teletraan-I, Intelligence Officer of the Elite Guard, to Ratchet, I read you."_

"Greetings, Arcee! I've successfully landed on Earth without damage."

 _"That's great to hear, Ratch! How's the exploration so far?"_

"Well, Arcee… The organic creatures known as 'humans' have made a civilized society, similar to ours. The humans are a young species, learning how to advance their technology. But I sense energy nearby."

" _How are you holding up?"_

"Wonderfully. It's interesting to learn about the human race and their culture. I have already invented a device called a holoform; it helps me blend in."

 _"How so?"_

"The holoform creates a physical projection of a human figure. The holoform appears and functions quite similarly to of a human. It is controlled by the Cybertronian the device is bound to, which at the moment, is me."

 _"That's quite the invention. How'd you manage it, Ratch?"_

"Spending an entire year around humans gets you thinking. All I was at first, was some automobile driving around with no driver, which apparently freaks humans out. I cannot let myself getting caught as a Cybertronian here."

* * *

 _April 18, 1989_

It had been nine months since his last contact with Teletraan-I and his usual answer, Arcee.

About a couple months ago, Ratchet had met a human female who both had seemed to take an interest in each other. Human courtship was quite an adventure for Ratchet. An odd one at that, but it was fairly similar to Cybertronian's, just without spark to spark relationships.

The name she went by was Jasmine Lauriana-Mae McKlee. She told Ratchet "Jasmine Mae" meant gift of heaven in West Indian tribal.

The human femme was only a few inches shorter than the six foot four figure Ratchet houses in his holoform. She had long, wavy dark hair, beautiful sea green eyes and olive skin. Her age seemed to be around early to mid-thirties.

Ratchet had taken the cover-up name of Richard Noah Dash, but commonly goes by Ratchet, as usual.

Ratchet's nineteen eighty-five Range Rover smoothly ran over the asphalt road. The Range Rover was yellow with red accents along the trims. His holoform was inside, being a human male in his late-thirties to early-forties, he had red hair, a white cardigan with a light blue button-up shirt under and khaki pants. A red stubble was forming on his chin and jawline. And placed right on his nose bridge, were his horn rimmed glasses.

The Chief Medical Officer drove Jasmine someplace special, his landing area. And here they were, the two of them, walking in the field hand in hand. Over the course of the month, their relationship had grown into a courtship the more they hung out with each other. Ratchet had never thought he would find another femme to love after his first was killed during the bombing of Praxus.

He subtly shakes his processor of the thoughts and looks over to Jasmine, she's looking down at her leather boots that step their way through the grass in long strides while smiling to herself, both hand in hand.

Ratchet couldn't describe how beautiful she was, and couldn't count how many times he's said that to her. She is, however, the most beautiful human Ratchet's seen.

* * *

 _March 17, 1990_

It has been several months since Ratchet and Jasmine have been together. Ratchet had still not contacted Teletraan-I. The New Year came and went, it was nineteen ninety in March, and Jasmine had announced she was pregnant to Ratchet. Their relationship had progressed even further to a love unimaginable to the Chief Medical Officer. And one day, the two shared intimacy.

And that resulted in Ratchet and Jasmine expecting a child.

Ratchet was overjoyed at the news. Never had he expected his exploration ending up like this. But he enjoyed every little bit of it.

But it soon faded after Ratchet realized, how he was going to break the news to Jasmine. How he was not human. He was a Cybertronian. Staying on Earth for a five year exploration, looking for Megatron and the Allspark. She would be broken-hearted, and it would break his spark too.

He'd have to break it to her eventually.

His holoform's hand hesitated over their bedroom door. Jasmine had invited him to live at her house for as long as they were together.

His knuckles softly beat on the door, he turned the knob when he heard the invitation to come in, a quiet "enter."

What he found, was his tired love, lying in bed with a progressing stomach. She was only a couple months into the pregnancy.

"Hey," he whispered, carefully climbing onto the bed. He planted a soft kiss on Jasmine's cheek, "How are you doing?"

"Fine, just a little tired," she replied, swinging an arm over her eyes in exhaustion.

"Would you like anything?" He smiled as her green eyes met his blue eyes, her arm had moved up onto her forehead.

She sighed, then smiled, "I'm okay, thanks. How was your day so far?"

"Great. Kind of lonely with you lying in bed all day," He caressed her cheek with the back of his index finger, "I've been thinking for the past couple months. It's probably not what you're thinking. But, mind if I show you outside?"

Jasmine let out a "sure" before she carefully sat up and slipped out of the covers of the bed.

The Chief Medical Officer waited by the door for her, arm outstretched and hand open for her to grab, and she did. The two went downstairs and into the entrance of the house, they both slipped on their shoes and Ratchet led her outside.

"It's kind of a huge secret. I need you to not tell anyone. And not to freak out. Promise me that, Jasmine."

She nodded, and whispered, "I promise."

"See the Range Rover you've been trying to get me to sell?" She nodded, "The only reason I kept it is because I'm not human," He waited for a response, it didn't come, "I'm an alien. The car, is me."

Her eyes widened a fraction, she let out the faintest of whispers Ratchet had a hard time hearing, even with his advanced hearing, "I trust you. And I want to believe you," She cleared her throat, her voice became clear, "Show me."

He allowed his holoform dissipate in a flurry of sparks. Jasmine tried her best to keep her cool and stay calm as the yellow Range Rover shifted itself into a different figure with whirrs, clicks and hisses. It had to of been around twenty five feet tall.

Ratchet knelt down to see Jasmine's smaller frame, her hand was placed on her stomach.

"This is you?" She muttered, as though in a trance.

"Yes," Ratchet shifted himself a little, "I'm sorry if it's made you uncomfortable. You must be…Angry at me, for not telling you sooner."

Jasmine snapped out of her staring and smiled, "No, no! It's...It's astonishing. Great, even! You weren't human this entire time? And...Aliens are really...Real," She stopped and gasped, "I'm having a half-alien baby." She said with realization.

"I meant to tell you sooner, but I never got to it. And now that you're pregnant with my child, I felt that it was right for you to know."

"You're a sentient robot that can convert into a car and can disguise itself as a human. That's amazing."

Ratchet laughed at her amazement, "I thought you were going to be scared of me."

"Might as well be scared of you when you were 'human.' I know you aren't going to hurt me."

Ratchet held a finger to Jasmine, and she placed her hand on it. They smiled.

* * *

 _November 23, 1990_

Ratchet held the small bundle in his arms, its tiny cries had ended once the baby was with him. Jasmine lied in the bed, arm covering her sweaty head, legs still slightly splayed.

The Chief Medical Officer walked over to the brunette, showing her the face of the child she has given birth to. Ratchet smiled, "It's a healthy girl."

"A girl!" Jasmine breathed. Ratchet deposited the bundle into Jasmine's awaiting arms, she inspected the newborn baby. It looked to be human.

"She's got your red hair, and I have a feeling her eyes are going to be yours," she said, looking up to Ratchet, and back to the child.

"And she's got your nose," Ratchet replied, poking the baby's nose softly.

Jasmine stopped, and looked up to the disguised Cybertronian, "what should we name her? You pick."

"She reminds me of the Cybertronian legend," Ratchet said, giving another Cybertronian history lesson to Jasmine, "Her name was Kardiness. She was a beautiful and graceful Prime, also being the first female Cybertronian. Kardiness was also one of my direct relatives."

"Shall we name her Kardiness?"

"Are you alright with the name?"

"I love the name."

The two agreed on the name, being Kardiness McKlee, in honor of Kardiness Prime. But as a cover-up, Jasmine chose a more humane name to fit her in better.

It has been almost three years since Ratchet's arrival to Earth.

Ratchet hasn't hesitated to tell Jasmine anything since he told her about him being Cybertronian seven months ago. He's told her about his culture, history, etc. He loved sharing it with her, and she as well.

* * *

 _September 26, 1992_

Two years passed since Kardiness' birth. Three and a half since the last time Ratchet talked to Teletraan-I. And five years since his arrival to Earth.

Kardiness was currently going through her terrible twos, unaware of her mother's despair of Ratchet's news that he was leaving shortly back to his people.

"This is Ratchet, Chief Medical Officer of the Autobots, to Teletraan-I, does anyone copy?"

At first, static. Ratchet repeated the same message.

 _"This is Ironhide, Weapon Specialist of the Autobots, to Ratchet, I copy."_

That was odd, no Teletraan-I?

"Long time, Ironhide. May I ask, where is Ark-7?"

 _"Shot down by the Nemesis stellar cycles ago."_

Ratchet's spark froze, "A-any survivors?"

 _"Not that we know of. Some might have survived through escape pods, since some were missing amidst our search for survivors after the ship crashed."_ A pause, _"What brings you to use the comm link?"_

"I have finished my exploration located on Earth."

 _"Ah, yes. I've heard of that. Are you returning?"_

Ratchet didn't want to, but he couldn't leave his Autobots hanging while he accompanied the rank of Chief Medical Officer, "Yes."

 _"We'll prepare the ship for your arrival."_

"One last thing."

 _"What is it?"_

"May I speak to Optimus Prime?"

Silence filled the other end before a baritone voice, a different one, filled that silence. A familiar voice, _"This is Optimus Prime to Ratchet. What is it, old friend?"_

"The Allspark."

 _"Pardon?"_

"It's here. On Earth."

 _"Are you positive?"_

"Absolutely. And Megatron as well, as we have presumed."

 _"We'll prepare a ship for your return. We will discuss the Cube once you arrive."_

"See you then."


	2. About a Girl

**Chapter 1**

 **"About a Girl"**

 _A small girl clutched a leopard stuffed animal to her chest, arms tightening around the fluffy body every time a bright light flashed across her vision, cringing each time the booming thunder of the storm rumbled through the ground._

 _The car came to a slow stop at a red light. The noises of rushing water and the harsh pitter-patter on the car's roof didn't help the girl's case._

 _"Don't worry, sweetheart, we'll be back before you know it," the soft voice of the girl's mother said, her face temporarily appearing on the mirror above the dashboard. For a second, there was no thunder, no lightning or the harsh rain. Just silence with the slightly audible rumble of the car's engine._

 _As soon as the mother's voice disappeared, the storm came flooding back and that short peaceful moment was gone._

 _The traffic light ahead turned green and the car cautiously lurched forward. The sound of screeching tires nearby filled the girl's ears before the car was sent off its course on impact to a t-bone._

 _She tried to scream. But nothing was heard from the girl's mouth. She curled her body on instinct as the car flipped over on its sides repetitively._

 _It seemed to have been forever before the car had hydroplaned itself into a nearby ditch. All sides of the car were smashed, not one piece to be intact._

 _Now that it's over, it only seemed to have been a couple seconds instead of a long time._

 _The girl lied helplessly in her seat, the seat belt still strapped on tight. She couldn't feel much, especially not her jaw or her left ear. Something had hit them and now they were numb. Her hand found her stuffed animal, she brought it close to her and embraced it._

 _She went limp._

* * *

 _May 18, 2007_

A gasp left the teen as she had jerked awake from her nightmare, she breathed heavily. Her sweat covered forehead made her long crimson hair plastered on. Her hand brushed the strands of red hair away and out of her mouth.

Her eyes met the alarm clock sitting on her nightstand beside her.

 _7:23 am_

She had to get up. It was a Friday, May eighteenth. A school day. With a groan, she climbed out of bed and into a fresh set of clothes.

Her feet found their way downstairs and into the kitchen of her mother's house. The tired faces of her brother and sister greeted her, along with her youngest sister's bright, energetic face.

"Morning, guys," she said, grabbing an apple from the basket in the middle of the island table. They all greeted her with a simple "hey." The red head passed by her brother and ruffled his hair.

"Not inth' morning," he slurred, clearly too tired.

Before taking a seat beside her sisters, the red head kissed her brother's cheek, "not enough sleep?" He nodded in response, a hand on his cheek to keep his head up, "I told you to go to sleep early."

"You're not Mom," he muttered, taking a bite out of his breakfast, which was a toasted bagel with cream cheese.

"No, but Mom _did_ put me in charge when she's not home. And is she home?" He shook his head, "Then I'm in charge."

"And she is the oldest. We aren't old enough to do anything on our own, I guess," Joanna mumbled from across the table.

"I'm thirteen," Kai said.

Joanna rolled her eyes, "And I'm eleven. I can't do anything more than you can. Might as well be Jade! She can't do anything like us. Because she's only six."

"Seven," the youngest out of the four said, crossing her arms.

"You'll be seven in a month, Jade," The red head said, smiling. Then realization struck, "Oh my gosh, you're almost seven! You can't keep growing so fast!" They all laughed in return.

Their breakfast was left in a comfortable silence, a couple laughs exchanged over the little things. Such as Kai almost spilling his milk all over himself when he took a sip.

"Okay, y'all go get ready, alright? I'm driving you and it's almost eight," she said, looking at the clock on the wall, the hands ticking away nearing in on seven-fifty. The three kids obeyed and jumped out of their seats to prepare for the school day.

While the red head was waiting, she slipped her essay out of her binder, which was in her backpack, and went over each word. It was Mr. Hosney's stupid genealogy report. She is supposed to present it today.

Ten minutes later, the clock struck eight and all four kids were ready to go and hopping into the nineteen seventy-eight black Pontiac Firebird the teen owned since she got her license.

She dropped the three kids off to their school, the elementary and middle being the same school, and drove off to her own high school.

The red head parked and walked into the lobby, she greeted the lady at the front desk.

It was after eight-thirty, she was late and the lady knew exactly why, "Dropped the kids off again?" She smiled, giving the red head a late pass.

"Kadence," Mr. Hosney took attendance, calling out everyone's name, "Kadence?"

The door to the classroom opened, and the red head walked in, handing the history teacher a late note from her previous class, art. Rolling her eyes at her _favorite_ teacher who just so happens to make history class her absolute _favorite_.

"Miss Bluett, just because it's the last period doesn't mean it's not the end of the day yet, don't even think about being late again," Mr. Hosney said, sitting down at his desk and looking over the late note from the art class.

The red head, Kadence, took a seat at her desk, which was right beside a boy who she knew since first grade. They didn't particularly know each other well, but have hung out on a few occasions as study buddies or for favors.

"Sam, you get your report done?" She whispered to him.

In response, he held up a hand, "I got it done, quit worrying."

"I'm not going to stop worrying until you pres-"

"Kadence, do you have your report ready?" She nodded, "Then get up here and present it."

"Alright," Kadence stood, gathered her folder and walked to the front to the podium. The red head never had problems speaking in front of people, making her presentation pass by with ease, "Sixteen years ago, November twenty-third, nineteen-ninety, a baby girl named Kadence was born. When she was two, her father left for an unknown reason. She has no clue who he is, and most likely, never will.

"When...Kadence was four," The red head felt her throat constrict as she remembered the vivid dreams, "She and her mother were driving through the rain. After a traffic light turned from red to green, they drove on wards. A split second later, they were harshly t-boned and sent tumbling. For what seemed like hours for Kadence, they finally stopped after a few seconds. And nose-dived in a ditch. Sirens could faintly be heard over the pounding rain."

The class seemed to have leaned in, "Three weeks later, Kadence had gone through three operations for her broken jaw," she pointed to a scar on her jaw just below her ear, "And was going through rehabilitation. As well as being devastated over the news of her mother. She was lost on impact.

"Two years later, Kadence was but six when she was adopted by a Captain of a Special Ops team and his now former wife, Quinn Bluett. She lived happily after that, learning a variety of instruments, including violin and piano," as directed, she held up a couple objects that described herself, including a wrench, "And a self-employed mechanic. Also having a brother, two sisters, a step-sister and a step-mother.

"Today, Kadence isn't a very popular person in the real-world, outside of school. Yes, her work gets a lot of attention, but no more then what Vincent Van Gogh had when he was alive," She muttered into her hand to the students in front of her, "Which wasn't much. But she is content.

"Two weeks ago, the eleventh grade history class was told to write a genealogy report, write an essay about a biological relative. So Kadence walked up to her teacher, Mr. Hosney," She gestured to him, "And said, 'Mr. Hosney. I don't know any of my biological family. Can I do myself?'" This brought a few chuckles, "And he said, 'Sure. Just as long as it's in third person, as though you weren't...you.' So that's pretty much Kadence's life story. She now lives as Kadence Bluett."

Kadence looks to the teacher as a sign she's done. Mr. Hosney gestures for her to come. She hands him her report and he writes a letter on it. Kadence receives her paper and looks at the green letter in a circle, "A." The red head gathers her folder and sits back down.

"Sam, would you please come up to the front of the class and present your report?" Mr. Hosney said with his infamous monotone voice, always seeming bored. The teenage boy stood and scrambled up to the front, struggling with the items he holds.

He finally got settled at the mock podium. A cocky jock, Trent DeMarco, flung a rubber band and it hit Sam's neck. Mr. Hosney stood, "Who-who did that?" No one answer, "People. Responsibility."

"So, for my genealogy report, I decided to write on my great-great-grandfather, Captain Archibald Witwicky, who was a famous man. He was a polar explorer; in fact, he was one of the first men to visit the Arctic Circle, which is a big deal. In 1897 he took forty-one brave explorers with him to the Arctic Shelf. That's the story. Unfortunately my great-grandfather, the genius that he is, went blind and crazy - he spent the rest of his life in a psycho ward, drawing these strange symbols and babbling about some Iceman he'd discovered..." Sam held up papers and newspapers with strange symbols Kadence swore she's seen them before. Déjà vu.

"...And the compass makes uh... a great gift for Columbus Day..." Sam held up some cracked spectacles, "These are pretty cool. These are my grandfather's glasses. I haven't quite gotten them appraised yet, but they see many cool things-"

"Are you going to sell me his liver?" Mr. Hosney said with a knuckle against his cheek, obviously bored, "Mr. Witwicky, this is not show and sell, it's the eleventh grade. I do not think your grandfather would be proud of you selling his things."

"R-right," Sam said, stuttering with his words and continued on with the report. No one looked interested. He showed a couple more items that were his grandfather's possessions, after describing them, he tried to sell them, listing their price.

The bell rang as Sam was still listing the prices for his items, that he accepts cash or credit and the items are on eBay.

"Okay. Might be a pop quiz tomorrow, might not. Sleep in fear tonight," Mr. Hosney said as the students filed out of the history classroom.

Sam handed Mr. Hosney his paper report and subtly bounced up and down in excitement before straightening himself. Kadence waited for him at the door. The teenage boy looked at the history teacher, "So, what do you think?"

"Mmm...At most, a B minus."

Sam stopped and looked at him in the eye, and deadpanned, "A B minus."

Kadence held her binder to her chest and leaned against the door frame, waiting patiently as Sam began to ramble.

"Look, can you do me a favor-" Sam began in front of Mr. Hosney's desk, "Can you look out the window for a second? See my father? He's the guy in the green car. Let me tell you about a dream, a boy's dream, and a man's promise to that boy. He looked him in the eye and said, 'Son, I'm gonna buy you a car, but I want you to bring me two-thousand dollars and three A's.' Okay, I got the two thousand and two A's. Okay, here's the dream. Your B minus? Pfff! Dream gone. Kaput. Sir, just ask yourself... What would Jesus do?"

Kadence groaned from the doorway, Sam pulled his infamous "What would Jesus do?" card.

And somehow, he got that A. An A minus.


	3. Fiesta

**Chapter 2**

 **"Fiesta"**

 _May 18, 2007_

"Hey, Mr. Witwicky!"

The balding man looked over to the red head, "Hey Kadence, how's life?"

"Great! Did I tell you I fixed that Firebird?" She said, setting down her violin case and fixing the beige cardigan she had on, uncovering the white tee underneath.

"The Pontiac?" He asked, she nodded, "That's wonderful!"

Sam hopped into the car, sprinting right past Kadence, "Okay, Dad. It's an A. An A minus, but still an A," Sam said, interrupting the conversation as he hopped into the passenger seat of the green car.

"Hold on, hold on, I can't see," Ron grabbed the paper and inspected it.

Sam watched, "So I'm good?"

"You're good," Ron looked up to Kadence, "Hey kiddo, you riding with us?"

She shook her head, turning her heels, "I've got my Firebird parked around the corner. I'll be right behind you guys." She repositioned her backpack and picked up the violin case.

With that, she began walking away to the parking lot beside the school. Her fingers slipped into her black jeans pockets and pulled out the car keys to the Pontiac. Since this car is from the seventies, it has a key to unlock the car. She slid the key into the lock and turned, the car door popped open.

Her hands found the keys again and slid the key into the car's ignition. The deep engine rumbled to life.

She exited the lot and found the Witwickys' car waiting for her. Kadence honked the horn from behind to let them know she was there, and they drove off.

Kadence turned the wheel after Ron and Sam. They were entering a Porsche dealership, and she could hear Sam's noises of disbelief, suddenly being cut off by deadpan.

Like Ron'll buy Sam a Porsche.

The red head parked her Firebird outside of the used car dealership that the green car entered.

"No, no, no. What is this? You said - You said half a car, not half a piece of crap, Dad."

"When I was your age, I was happy with four wheels and an engine."

Sam said, "Let me explain something to you. Okay? Ever seen 'The Forty-Year-Old Virgin?'"

"Yeah," his father replied, looking at Sam then back at the cars.

"Well, you see this?" Sam points at one of the cars in the "showroom," "This is the forty-year-old virgin..." He then points at a car next to it that looks just as old and rusty, "And this is the fifty-year-old virgin! You wanna live that life?"

"No sacrifice,-"

"Yeah, no victory. I got it. The old Witwicky motto. Okay?"

"Gentlemen, and lady," An African-American man stepped out, shaking their hands, "Bobby Bolivia, like the country except without the run. What can I do for ya?"

"Yeah, well, my son here," Ron places a hand on Sam's shoulder, "Looking to buy his first car."

"You come to see me?"

"I had to," Sam deadpanned, dismay written all over his visage.

"That practically makes us family! Uncle Bobby B, baby! Uncle Bobby B!" The man smiled, shaking Sam's hand.

Uninterested in whatever next they'll say, Kadence decided to pace around the lot of old cars, mostly semi-classics. Hearing an engine rev, Kadence turned her head in response.

Next to an old Beetle, was a Camaro. It caught the red head's interest and she walked towards it, examining it. Her hands trailed down the sides of the car and over the hood, it seemed to have shivered. She retracted her hand slowly, before smiling and placing her hand back onto its oddly warm hood.

"This ain't bad," Sam said from behind her, startling her. Since when was Sam there? "It's got racing stripes." He, too, ran his hands over the car.

"Yeah, it got racing-" Bolivia stopped, "What is- What the heck is this? I don't know nothing about this. Ay Ma-"

Kadence crossed her arms, and muttered "A nineteen seventy-four Z28 Chevrolet Camaro." All eyes went on her, she held up her hands, "I just happen to know what it is, alright?"

Sam opened the car door and slipped in, Kadence shut the door after him and leaned on the open window, looking at the interior.

"Feels good."

Sam got himself comfortable in the seats. Once he was settled, he held the steering wheel, and rubbed off grime that had built up on it. In the middle, was a symbol neither of the teens have seen before, or at least for Sam. It was a square-ish robotic face. Déjà vu once again.

"So how much?" Kadence said to Bobby Bolivia, still looking inside the car.

"Well, considering the semi-classic nature of the vehicle, with its slick wheels and its custom paint job-"

"Yeah, but the paints faded," Sam interrupted, clearly not understanding.

"Y-yeah, but its custom."

"It's custom-faded?"

"Well, this is your first car, I wouldn't expect you to understand," Bolivia stood and looked to Ron, "Five grand."

"Nah, not paying over four," Ron shook his head. Kadence groaned.

"Kid, come on- come on out of the car."

"No, no, no. I thought you said cars pick their drivers?"

"Yeah. Well, sometimes they pick their drivers with a cheap-ass father. Out of the car."

Sam began to get out the car, when Bolivia began talking again and this time, about the Beetle next to them. "Now this one, four G's, is a beaut."

"There's a Fiesta with racing stripes over there," Ron said to Sam, trying to cheer him up.

Sam muttered something, "No, no I don't want a Fiesta with racing stripes. I'm not getting a Ford. Kadence wouldn't let me," the teenage boy glared at the red head.

"It's an Oldsmobile, Sam. Not a Ford," Kadence said, looking over to the old Fiesta.

"Still don't want a Fiesta," Sam muttered as Bobby Bolivia kept on talking about the Beetle.

"Why would this junkyard have a Ford Fiesta? That's a more of a modern car then these rundown classics," Kadence subconsciously muttered, then grabbed Sam's shoulder before he could continue walking on, her eyes were examining the cars in the lot, "the car with racing stripes is a Fiesta. An Oldsmobile. You see the red car over there?" The red head pointed to an orange-red car that was parked in another lot, " _That's_ a Ford Fiesta. Not an Oldsmobile." Sam held up his hands as a motion to stop.

"Okay, okay. I get it!"

"This is a classic engine right here!" Bolivia said, closing the Beetle's doors, "Real nice engine!"

"It's a flat four, four cylinder piece of crap engine. Might I add, from the seventies," Kadence muttered. Bolivia seemed to have heard.

Sam closed the Camaro's door, and as it clicked close, the passenger door flung open and crashed into the Beetle beside it, a horn called out.

Bolivia freaked inside of the car and climbed out through the passenger side of the Beetle, glancing at the things the Beetle pushed over.

"Sheesh. Holy cow. You alright?" Ron said. Kadence could barely stifle a giggle, watching as the frantic man climbed out through the window and looked at them with wide eyes.

"Oh, no, no, no. Don't worry!" Bolivia called out to the mechanic, "Ay, Manny! Get your clown cousin and get some hammers and come bang this stuff out, baby!" He laughed hysterically.

Kadence gave a longing look at the Camaro. It was a beautiful car.

" _Greater than man..._ " Kadence glanced at the Camaro's radio, the frequencies were going all over the place. Somehow, it was changing its radio stations by itself. She couldn't move, all she could do was stand and watch as it continued changed the stations.

Bolivia moved on and pointed out another car, "That one's my favorite. Drove all the way from Alabammy!"

"There's still that Fiesta, Sam," Ron said.

"I just said I don't want a cruddy Fies-"

The frequency shot through the roof as a high pitched ringing broke out from the Camaro and into the lot. Not hesitating to break all the cars' windows. Everyone ducked down, Kadence leaning against the Camaro as a better shield. It was getting warmer than before. Odd.

Car sirens went off simultaneously, and stopped at the same time as well.

Bolivia was the first to stand. His mouth agape as he swiveled around on his feet to see all the cars' windows gone. His eyes landed on the Camaro.

He twirled around and frantically held out four fingers to Ron, "Four thousand!"


	4. Time to Run

**Chapter 3**

 **"Time to Run"**

 _May 19, 2007_

Mikaela, Kadence and a few other friends were hanging out in front of a Burger King. It's been two days since Sam bought his Camaro. First day, he got a girl (Mikaela) into it. Second day, technically last night, he got arrested and lost the Camaro. Talking about how it stood up.

The third day? He gets chased by it. On his mother's bike.

The front tire of the bike trips on the uneven part of the sidewalk and he flips onto his back, quite painfully.

Some of the girls giggle, and Kadence found herself trying to stifle one. Mikaela grimaces, "That was, uh…that was really awesome."

"Felt awesome," Sam sputtered, scrambling to stand. Mikaela asked if he was okay, "No, I'm not okay, alright? I'm losin' my mind a little bit. Gettin' chased by my car right now, gotta go!"

Mikaela watches as Sam peddles off. She turns to set down her napkin and grabs her purse, "You know what, I'm gonna go," She nods to Kadence, "Meet you there."

The red head stood from her seat, discarding her soda cup in the trash as she walked over to the parking lot. Mikaela had gone the opposite direction to get her moped. Starting up her Firebird, Kadence drove out of the Burger King. Driving down the road Sam had taken, along with his Camaro, she thought over what had happened.

Sam getting chased by his car after it had gotten stolen last night?

She parked her Firebird near the underpass that she saw Sam and his Camaro go into. It took a bit before she could cross the street to the junkyard of broken cars.

Kadence peeked around the corner to see Sam, running for his dear life from whatever God out there knows what. Turning her head, she saw Mikaela turning her scooter towards Sam.

Sam waved his hands frantically for Mikaela to get away. As last resort, he stuck out his arm and knocked the brunette off of her scooter and onto her back.

Kadence raced forward to help Mikaela get up, she slipped off her helmet and placed a hand on her back, "What is your problem, Sam?"

"Okay, there's a monster right there who just attacked me," Sam points towards a large robot who had just flipped over two cars and was running right towards the three, "Here he comes!"

Kadence and Mikaela couldn't get up, they were frozen with fear.

Tires screeched and soon, Sam's damned Camaro, driving itself, drove past, almost hitting the trio, and knocked over the metal being. It swiveled back and showed its side to the three, popping open the passenger door.

"Sam, what is that thing?" Kadence asks, reluctant to get in.

"You have to get in the car," Mikaela fought to say no, Sam continued, "G-get in the car. Trust me. Trust me!"

 _You were just fleeing from the car!_ The red head spat in her head as all three jumped into the Camaro, Kadence slipping into the backseat while Sam took the driver's seat and Mikaela, the passenger.

"Go, go, go, go!" Sam yelled, the Camaro shifted gears, turned the wheel and floored it, just as the metal being was back up and shifted into a Saleen police cruiser.

The Camaro drove through smoke and sharply swerved a little after realizing the Mustang was right on their tail. Driving down a road, the Mustang tried to get past to no avail.

Mikaela, seeing a wall ahead, screamed, "Oh God. We're gonna die. We're gonna die!"

"No, we're not. No, we're not gonna die. Trust me, he's a kick-ass driver!"

Finding out that they really are heading into a wall, both Kadence and Sam yelled, more like Sam screeched, "We're gonna die!"

They crashed through a large stained glass window. The Mustang was still hot on their tail. After doing a large U-turn, they sped off once more in attempt to lose the cruiser.

By sun down, they were ahead of the cruiser, but it was still chasing them. The Camaro took a right and hid in front of a warehouse, just as the Mustang passed with its lights flashing.

The Camaro locked its doors as Sam and Mikaela scramble for the locks. Kadence leans up from the backseat to see, and says, "We're locked in."

Sam hit the steering wheel, "The car won't start. At least we ditched the monster, right?"

"You spoke too soon," Kadence pointed ahead to see the Mustang slowly pass by again, only to stop.

Sam begins whispering to the car, and it turns its keys and quietly starts the engine. Burning rubber, the Camaro sped off as the police cruiser backed up to block their path.

Taking another U-turn, the Camaro abruptly stops and opens the passenger door, ushering the trio out, in which they did so a little roughly.

The Camaro reshifted itself and stood up. Just as Sam had said. It stood up. Like the Mustang. Except, this one, stood protectively in front of the three teenagers. The Mustang is speeding up towards the yellow being, also shifting and tackling the Camaro.

Kadence didn't have to be told twice when Sam shouted out to run. They ran the opposite direction as the Camaro and Mustang conflicted.

An explosion wracked the ground from behind them, Kadence dared to glance back and saw the Mustang had been flipped over.

The cruiser shot something out of its chest, and a smaller mechanical being came out and sprinted after the three.

The little robot caught Sam's ankle and tripped him. The teenager tried desperately to kick off the robot, resulting in his jeans being pulled off and thrown aside.

Mikaela kept running, and went straight into a shed. Kadence kicked the robot off and tugged Sam up and the two kept running. The mini robot quickly caught up and pounced on Sam, trapping him against a wire fence.

The two had a short showdown before Mikaela appeared with a chainsaw, repeatedly stabbing and hacking the now shrieking robot and soon slicing off its head.

"See…Not so tough without a head, are ya?" Sam said to the struggling head. Racing up, Sam kicked the head like a football, bunting it far away.

"Good call," Kadence said breathlessly as she stared at the decapitated and limp body.

The trio stared, breathing heavily, in the direction they've last seen the fighting robots. It was silent.

"Hey, come on," Sam grabbed Mikaela's hand, she dropped the saw and followed. They began cautiously inching forward the moment they saw the yellow robot.

"What is it?" Mikaela muttered as the robot shifted its cannon back into a hand.

"It's a robot," Kadence stared, appalled at the amazing being.

Sam added on, "But like a…like a different, you know, like super advanced robot. It's probably Japanese. Yeah, it's definitely Japanese." Sam began walking forward as the robot stopped at the top of the hill.

"What are you doing?" Mikaela said.

"I don't think it wants to hurt us. It would have done that already," Kadence said, turning her head to say in Mikaela's ear.

"Really? Well, do you speak robot? Because they just had, like, a giant droid death match!" The brunette said, fading into a whisper.

"It wants something from us." The robot stood proudly, awaiting for the trio to say something.

Mikaela looked at Sam like he's crazy, "What?"

"'Cause the other one was talking about my eBay page."

Kadence shook her head, "How did I even get in this mess with you?"

Sam looked up to the being, "Can you talk?"

" _XM Satellite One…Digital Cable brings you…Columbia Broadcasting System…"_

"You talk through the radio?" Kadence says.

The robot claps his hands and points to her, " _Thank you, you're beautiful! You're wonderful, you're wonderful._ "

Sam stepped forward, "So what was that last night? What was that?"

The bot points towards the sky, " _Message from Starfleet, Captain…Throughout the inanimate vastness of space…And angels will rain down like visitors from heaven! Hallelujah!_ " The radio clips faded and overlapped into each other, making it slightly difficult to understand.

"'Visitors from heaven…'" Mikaela muttered, then spoke up, "So you're, like, an alien?"

The yellow bot points to the brunette and nods, changing back into the Z twenty-eight Camaro. Popping the door open, the radio said, " _Anymore questions you want to ask?_ "

"He wants us to get in the car," Sam muttered, glancing back at the two girls.

"And go where?" Kadence laughs nervously, holding out her arms.

Sam looked at them dead in the eye, "Fifty years from now, when you're looking back at your life, don't you want to be able to say you had the guts to get in the car?"

"Well," the red head scratched her head, thinking up a sarcastic comeback, "I don't think we'll live to that point when we're about to get caught up in some crazy ass shit."

* * *

Mikaela sat uncomfortably on the Camaro's console, her knees pressed against her chest, she eyed the steering wheel warily, "This car's a pretty good driver..."

Lights from the tunnel lit up the interior for a second before going dark, then light, and so on. Sam glanced at her, "Yeah," he glances at the empty driver's seat, "Why don't you go sit on that seat there?"

"I'm not gonna sit on that seat! He's driving!"

Sam glances nervously again, "Yeah. You're right. You know, maybe you should sit on my lap."

She gave him a hysterical look, "Why?"

"Well, I have the only seat belt here…Safety first."

Mikaela glances, considers and then rolls her eyes, "Yeah. Right," she shifts herself onto Sam's lap.

"See? That's better."

Kadence tapped Sam on the shoulder, he turned his head, "You know, that seat belt thing was a pretty smooth move."

The boy flashed her a smile, "Thank you."

Minutes passed of driving through the quiet tunnel before Mikaela shifted on top of Sam and said, "You know what I don't get?" Sam hummed, then she slowly turned her sentence into a whisper, as though not to offend, "If this car is supposed to be this super advanced alien robot, why is he this piece of crap Camaro?"

"Oh hell to the no!" Kadence shouted, taking more offense to that then the Camaro, who had slammed on its brakes rather harshly before opening its door to release the trio.

"Move it, ya moron!"

They stepped out and watched as the Camaro sped off in the other direction.

"Oh, now look what you did. That's four thousand dollars. Gone!" He turned to Mikaela, "That car is sensitive."

Kadence frowned, "Wonder what it's going to do?"

"We'll never find out, cause it's gon-"

The rumble of an engine startled the sweaty three before they saw a yellow and black 2006 Camaro concept pull up in front of them. They couldn't help but leave their mouths agape, awestricken.

They climbed into the leather seats, Mikaela flashing a smile at Sam before strapping her seatbelt on. And they continued on their way.

No music played from the speakers, no words were said, just the rumble of the engine as they drove out of the tunnel and into a closed off area.

The new Camaro ushered the trio out, presenting the sky, where a noise resounded through the silent air. Kadence turned her head to a whistling noise to find four asteroids heading their way. The red head catches a glimpse of Sam's hand slowly sliding into Mikaela's

Shaking the ground, the four objects fly right over their heads.

Sam grabs Mikaela's hand and tugs her towards the nearest landing. Climbing up the hill, they gape in awe at the fair-sized crater caused by a metal pod. As soon as the metal began shifting, the trio ran back to the Camaro.

They hopped back into the muscle car and drove off.

Minutes later, they found themselves in a dark, foggy alley. Kadence stared through the fog while ushering Sam out.

The fog shifted away as a red and blue flamed 1992 Peterbilt 379 drove in, its engine rumbling deeply. The Camaro behind them moved to their left as more cars entered the scene, a gray hardtop Pontiac Solstice, a black GMC TopKick C4500 and a florescent yellow search and rescue Hummer H2.

The trio of teens backed up as the truck drove quite close, then the grill began to split and the hood lifted.

A circle of shifting cars surrounded the teens, who stood gaping at the sight in front of them. They turned back to the changed Peterbilt and gazed in awe as they saw two pairs of blue eyes staring at them, mere inches away.


	5. Even They Know

**Chapter 4**

 **"Even They Know"**

 _May 19, 2007_

There was a short silence as they stared up at the large red and blue robot. Kadence closed her mouth, taking the time to look around at all the other ones. The Camaro was absolutely adorable, it nodded to her while its attenae pointed upwards higher. The TopKick smirked at her as they locked gaze, as did the Solstice. The Hummer offered a formal nod. Each one brightened their eyes when hers met them.

Turning back to the tallest one, which had knelt down, Kadence began wondering. Did it talk-?

"Are you Samuel James Witwicky, descendant of Archibald Witwicky?"

Damn, his voice is deep. Guess that answers her question, at least they don't speak some guttural language, alien to them.

"They know your name!" Mikaela whispers, appalled.

Sam stares at the large robot in amazement, "Yeah."

"My name is Optimus Prime. We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron," His eyes brighten to a light blue before toning back down to its sky blue.

"But you can call us 'Autobots' for short," The Hummer says.

"Autobots," Kadence tests the word, once again, having a moment of déjà vu. Where had she heard that word before?

"What's crackin' lil' bitches?" Slang interlaces with a baritone voice from behind and the trio of humans turn to see the source.

The largest, Optimus Prime, gestures towards the smallest Autobot, "My first lieutenant, designation Jazz."

He does a somersault and places his hand on his chin while kneeling as a pose, "This looks like a cool place to kick it." He grunts as he hops onto a car, crossing his arms.

"What is - How'd he learn to talk like that?" Sam said, pointing towards the Autobot, he looked to Optimus for an answer.

"We've learned Earth's languages through the World Wide Web."

Kadence crosses her arms and chuckles in disbelief, "The World Wide Web." Optimus nods.

A noise sounds from behind them, once again, they turn around and see the black Autobot.

"My weapon specialist, Ironhide."

As if on cue, the bot activates two cannons, one on each arm, and points them at Sam, "You feeling lucky, _punk_?"

"Easy, Ironhide."

"Just kidding, I just wanted to show him my cannons," the black Autobot flashed a smirk at Kadence, who seemed impressed. She breathes out and mouths a "wow" in amazement, looking back at Optimus to see who's next to introduce.

"Chief Medical Officer, Ratchet."

The florescent yellow bot sniffed, then hummed in interest, "The boy's pheromone levels suggests he wants to mate with one of the females."

Kadence couldn't help but giggle and back away, while Sam and Mikaela were dropped into an awkward situation. Giving Sam a push, she laughed out loud, "There you go, you two. Hook up already!"

"Shut up, Kadie!" Sam blushed, swatting her away.

Optimus saved them, "You already know your guardian, Bumblebee."

The former Camaro threw a few punches into the air, bouncing on his feet and playing a radio clip, " _Check on the rep, yep! Second to none!_ "

"Bumblebee, right? You're my guardian?" Bumblebee nods.

"May w'know da females' names?" Jazz said, tilting his head.

"I'm Mikaela Banes."

Kadence gave a mock salute with two fingers and flashed a smile towards the grey Autobot, "I'm Kadie...Kadence Bluett."

My sincerest apologies for getting you two involved," the Prime said, "We were hoping for only Sam to be in this."

Mikaela stepped forward and looked at the Autobot dead in the eye, "Why are you here?"

"We are here looking for the Allspark, and we must find before Megatron." His voice dives down to a deeper octave and his eyes glow brighter.

"Mega-what?"

To explain, Optimus placed a finger to his temple. His eyes shone and emitted a blue light, activating what looked to be a hologram.

"Our planet was once a powerful empire, peaceful and just, until we were betrayed by Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. All who defied them were destroyed," An image of Cybertron flashed across everyone's visions, then a robot with menacing red eyes threw a spear at another and laughed. "Our war finally consumed the planet, and the All Spark was lost to the stars. Megatron followed it to Earth, where Captain Witwicky found him..."

Kadence glances to Sam and mutters, "Your grandfather..."

"It was an accident that interwined our fates. Megatron crash landed before he could retrieve the Cube," The hologram changed to the captain discovering Megatron and touching Megatron's frozen hand, "He accidentally activated his navigation system. The coordinates to the Cube's location on Earth were imprinted on his glasses."

"How'd you know about the glasses?"

"eBay."

Sam smiled in disbelief, "eBay..."

"If the Decepticons find the Allspark, they will use its power to transform Earth's machines and build a new army," Ratchet says.

"And the human race will be extinguished," The Autobots crouched down and looked at Sam expectantly, "Sam Witwicky, you hold the key to Earth's survival."

"Sam, you better have those damn glasses or I'm kicking your ass to hell and back," Kadence muttered to the teenager, her blue eyes darting from one Autobot to the other, "Because, honestly, you're not a good person to be relied upon..."

Ironhide chuckled and pointed to Kadence, looking at the other Autobots, "I like this femme."

"Please tell me you have those glasses?" Mikaela said, glancing at Sam.

He held up his hands, "I got 'em, I got 'em...Don't worry."

* * *

And worry is what Kadence did. As did the Autobots.

Sam told the robots to wait in an alley-like driveway for five minutes. And they take that as five seconds. When Sam reached his door, the Autobots stood and began to make their way to Sam's backyard.

 _They can't stay in one spot for just a few minutes?_ Kadence ran a hand through her hair in irritation at the Autobots' impatience, more of Optimus'. It drove the three teenagers crazy.

"…Sleep well, handsome man," Sam said, pursing his lips while his arm was still rested on the door frame as he watched his father, Ron, walk back into the living room where Judy sat with a glass of red wine.

Bumblebee hid next to the house, signaling Optimus to be quiet and get down.

Kadence trailed Jazz into Sam's yard, only to see Sam shouting at Optimus as he accidentally stepped on the fountain, completely crushing it. He lifted his foot to see the damage, "Oh, whoops, sorry, my bad."

"Oh no! You couldn't w- You couldn't wait for five minutes? I told you to stay," He said flailing his arms, "Just stay! God!"

The Witwicky's Chihuahua, Mojo, barked at Ironhide, raised his hind leg and aimed at Ironhide's large foot before releasing. Sam turned from his conversation with Mikaela to see it, "No! Mojo, Mojo! Off the robo- God dammit."

"Ew, wet…"

The black Autobot clearly felt the warm liquid and kicked the source away, shaking his foot. Sam raced over and protectively held Mojo, "No, no, no, no. Easy, easy! Hold on, ho-! This is Mojo, this is Mojo. He's a pet of mine, he's a pet. Okay, let's- Could you put the guns away, put the gu- Put them away."

"You have a rodent infestation," The large robot activated one of his cannons and pointed it close to the dog, Sam holding out his hands, "Shall I terminate?"

"No, no, no. You've got it wrong, this is a Chihuahua. This is- This is my Chihuahua. We, we love Chihuahuas! Don't we?"

"He's leaked lubricants all over my _foot_! Hmph!"

Kadence crossed her arms and tried to refrain from laughing at the situation, ultimately failing.

"He- He peed on you?" He turned to the dog, and began scolding, "Bad Mojo, bad Mojo."

"Bad Mojo!" He deactivated his cannons and backed away.

"Sorry, he's got a male dominance thing."

"Ugh, my foot's gonna rust," Ironhide muttered, walking away from Sam and his Chihuahua. Kadence almost felt bad for the large Autobot. Optimus turned as Sam went through his feet and Ratchet stood from his crouch.

"Shh, shh, shh!"

"Just hurry," Optimus replied with. Sam raced into his house and Optimus twirled his finger in the air and pointed in a direction, "Autobots, recon."

Kadence followed Jazz to the side of the house. The Autobots paused and transformed right on Sam's yard. The red head raced in front of Jazz's Pontiac and glanced up to where Sam was looking out. She shrugged.

"What the- No, no, no…nonono…This isn't hiding! This isn't hiding! This is my backyard, not a truck stop," Sam backed away from the window in frustration, "Oh, oh God."

Kadence watched as Optimus transformed and knelt over the window, looking in Sam's bedroom. He moved back as Sam saw him, "What?" The teenage boy gestured to the garden below, Optimus followed his eyes, "Oh no, no, no."

"Oops."

"This is my mother's garden…Okay, listen. You gotta listen," Optimus placed his hands beside the window, "My parents cannot hear. If my parents see you, they'll freak out. My mother's got a temper. Okay?"

Kadence shook her head, if anything, _Ron_ is the one with the temper. Judy is just plain crazy and over exaggerates situations.

"Ugh, we _must_ have the glasses," Optimus insistantly began, impatiently.

Sam stopped him, "I know you need the glasses. I've been looking everywhere; they're not here."

Jazz shook his head and looked down to the red head below, "Do ya know where da glasses coul' be?" She looked up at him and shook her head. Jazz grunted, "Dang."

Optimus pinched his nose bridge, a much human action, and shook his head, "Ugh, keep searching."

"This is getting a little tedious," Kadence muttered, not caring if anyone heard her.

"I need you to be quiet, to be quiet for five minutes-"

"Sam just find the damn glasses, stop wasting time!" Kadence shouted from below the window. All eyes went on her as she shrugged, "We're not going to find them if you keep getting distracted. Get your ass back in the window and keep looking!"

Sam raised his hands above his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay. Jeez. Temper!"

Optimus turned from the window, "Autobots, fall back."

"Move!" Ironhide said to Ratchet.

The medical officer in return, playfully shoved him, "Get away."

"What's the matter with you, can't you be quiet? You're supposed to be quiet." Optimus scolded at the two Autobots. The red head below chuckled, _look who's talking._

Ratchet glanced to Optimus before running into powerlines, "Ow!" Kadence ran a hand through her hair as the Autobot's sirens glitched up and he collapsed. The lines shocked him right in the head.

He fell into the yard next to Sam's and lied on his back for a second, "Wow, that was tingly! Awwghh!" Ratchet let his head fall back, "You should try that!"

Amused and slightly concerned, Ironhide had glanced over the fence to see if the old Autobot was okay, seeing that he was just charged, he deadpanned, "Yeah, looks fun." The black Autobot waved a hand dismissively before walking away. Kadence looked around to see lights in the houses of the neighborhood going out.

Kadence listened in on the bickering inside of the house, but soon stopped after it became annoying. Ratchet and Ironhide found it amusing, so they stood next to the house, looking in the windows.

Optimus quickly stepped away as he saw Ron appearing in the room he was looking in, causing a tremble in the ground.

Seeing that Judy was coming to the window, Optimus twirled his finger again, "Quick, hide!"

"Hide? Wha- where?" Kadence ran after Jazz, who seemed to be struggling to hide as all the larger Autobots took places he could go.

She motioned him to the patio, "Quick, under here Jazz!"

"Oh, okay," He glanced up at the window, before dodging the eyes of the parents, "Oh man!"

Kadence held back a snicker. It was unbelievable how they've already adapted to Earth's languages and slang. Especially Jazz, he seemed to have the most personality out of all of them.

"Oh no! Look at the yard, the yard's destroyed!" Ron said, pointing his flashlights outside, "Oh, Judy? Gotta call the city, we've got a blown transformer," Optimus shifted upon hearing this, "We've got it sparking all over the place… Oh man. Yard's a waste. Trashed. Gone!"

Ironhide, with his depleting patience, stepped out of his hiding spot as Ratchet pushed him, Kadence and Jazz looked out from under to see him better. The black Autobot activated a cannon, "The parents are very irritating."

"Yeah, yeah!" Ratchet said, agreeing as he looked through the window.

"Can I take them out?"

Optimus immediately moved in to scold him, "Ironhide, you know we don't harm humans! What is with you?"

"Well, I'm just saying… We could. It's an option," Ironhide nonchalantly shrugged then looked down to Kadence, who was staring at the fountain.

It was quite the amusing scene.

But it was cut short when Jazz scooped Kadence up in his odd claw hands and transformed, following the other Autobots to the small alley.

"Wha- What's going on?" Kadence said, dazed and gripping the handle after being thrown around during the transformation.

"Humans. An' they dun look so nice."


	6. Right to the Point

**Chapter 5**

" **Right to the Point"**

 _May 19, 2007_

The Autobots stationed themselves next to a bridge as Optimus went ahead to stop the lead SUV in which held Sam and Mikaela.

Stopping it was easy; just put a giant robotic foot in the way and stop the car as though it were a soccer ball.

The black GMC spun out and hit Optimus' ankle. The other SUVs slammed on their brakes before any more crashes occurred.

The Autobot leader stood directly in front of the smashed SUV and flashed his headlights onto it, grabbing it by the sides.

From Kadence's view, it looked like a kid crouching down to pick up a bucket full of water, except the bucket wasn't heavy for Optimus, he was just being careful. She could hear the car roof protest on how it's suspended in the air, and the roof snapped off, leaving the base to fall back onto the ground with a heavy thud.

Optimus threw away the roof with disinterest and shut off his headlights.

"You a-holes are in trouble now," Sam leaned forward to speak to the two in the front, "Gentlemen, I'd wanna introduce you to my friend, Optimus Prime."

Kadence could have applaud Sam right then and there for that line if she weren't far away.

Taking this as his cue, Optimus began, "Taking the children was a _bad_ move," the men from the other SUVs stepped out and held guns aimed at the giant robot. He stepped back and pointed to the car, "Autobots, relieve them of their weapons."

Jazz scooped Kadence up, and she squealed in surprise before being cut short as Jazz grabbed onto the top bar of the bridge and swung himself down along with the other Autobots.

Ironhide caused a large thud, which brought the humans' attention to him. He didn't look too happy, having his large cannons aimed right at them. Ratchet's relatively smaller cannon, which looked to be a machine gun, made a high-pitched whir as he activated it.

Jazz led Kadence to his shoulder before he observed the humans and their weapons. He spun his right hand before saying, "Gimme those," and the guns flew right into his palm, he raised his visor and looked at them with distaste before throwing them behind him.

The movement finally settled and Kadence watched as Optimus lowered himself to the ground to see the two agents better.

The one in the passenger seat looked slightly nervous while the one next to him was downright horrified. He waved, "Hi there…"

Optimus shook his head, "You don't seem afraid…Are you not surprised to see us?"

"Well…There are, uh, S-7 protocols. Okay? I'm not authorized to communicate with you except to tell you I can't communicate with you." Kadence shook her head, _bullshit._

The Autobot leader was having none of it, he lowered himself even further to get in an intimidating proximity, "Get out of the car."

"Me? You want me…-"

"Now!" Everyone near the car flinched, Kadence found herself doing so as well despite the order not being directed at her, and moved so the four in the trashed SUV could climb out.

"Ah! Alright, yeah. Alright- I'm getting out, I'm getting out. You see?" The agent kept on rambling. Kadence observed from Jazz's left shoulder as Mikaela uncuffed herself and Sam. The agent was looking at the Autobots with his hands up. He said, "Big guys…Big guys with big guns."

Sam walked up to him and began questioning, "What is Sector Seven?" He got no reply, "Answer me!"

"I'm the one who asks question around here, not you young man!"

"What do you know about the aliens?"

"Where'd you take my parents?"

He glanced back and forth between the two, "I'm not at liberty to discuss thi- Hey, you touch me, that's a federal offense."

Sam fished through his pocket before pulling out a badge, "'Do-whatever-I-want-and-get-away-with-it' badge, huh?"

"Great, now all of the sudden with your big alien friends standing around…"

"Where's Sector Seven?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Having enough of this, Bumblebee stepped forward, fumbled with his abdomen and allowed something to pop off his crotch, hit the agent in the head, and let a liquid began pouring out. Kadence used Jazz as a brace as she fought to stifle a laugh and 'Bee, with his hands on his hips, peed on the man.

"Hey, _hey_!"

"Bumblebee, stop lubricating on the man," Optimus said sternly with a hint of amusement.

"Get that thing to stop, huh?"

Jazz stepped away to join Ironhide and Ratchet as Sam and Mikaela tied up the men. Point to Mikaela for having the head agent to take off his clothes.

"Humans are odd," Ironhide said, crossing his arms and shaking his head. He glanced to Kadence to see her agreeing.

"I will hunt you down!" The agent next to him echoed, and once again as the head agent said, "No remorse!"

"You've got to alert…Everyone," The agent muttered, glancing to Optimus, then other Autobots.

The other leaned in and said, "They already know," he revealed a phone, "It's on speaker."

Kadence took note and grabbed the Autobots' attention, "Reinforcements is coming in…We better move."

Two helicopters flew, trailing four black SUVs.

The Autobots immediately began moving, Ironhide shouting out, "Optimus, incoming!" He shoved a cannon into the ground and fired a bullet, creating a shockwave, which blew out the SUVs' tires.

Jazz activated a shield and knelt in front of Ironhide while Bumblebee stood with a cannon activated and ready.

"Roll out!"

With that, the Autobots transformed, and once again, Kadence was thrown through a transformation and ended up in Jazz's passenger seat. She let out a heavy breath, "You gotta stop that."

A laugh came through the speakers, " _Now where's da fun 'n dat?_ "

The Autobots drove away, leaving Optimus with the two remaining teenagers. Kadence watched as Optimus lowered his hand, having Sam and Mikaela hop on before he ran and disappeared through the city and under a bridge.

Bumblebee drove out upon Jazz's command to assist, and he raced through, tires squealing, towards Optimus' location.

Kadence held her breath as she watched Sam and Mikaela's distant forms fall from Optimus.

Bumblebee increased his speed, his engine rumbling as loud as it could. The Camaro transformed and caught the two in the nick of time. He slid on his stomach, Sam and Mikaela safely in his hands.

The scout moved to protect the two teens as the helicopters flew in, only to be hit with harpoons that soon brought him down on the ground and people moved in to capture him.

"Jazz, we've got to do something!" Kadence said, fighting against the seatbelt that was strapped on tight and preventing her from moving. She tried unlocking the door to no avail, "We can't just…sit here, can we?"

No reply.

The red head angrily kicked the dashboard, "Jazz, answer me!"

"' _M sorry, lil' lady…There's nuttin' we can do…_ " He said, solemnly.

"There has to be something?"

She could just imagine him shaking his head, " _Any action we would take would eithe' r'sult 'n Prime dis'pprovin', or hurtin' th' humans. W'can't 'ave eithe'._ "

The helicopters painfully struck harpoons through Bumblebee's wrists and ankles. A helicopter pulled away, efficiently tripping the young scout and bringing him to the ground, whining.

Kadence froze, then sighed and leaned back, allowing the seatbelt to restrain her. It tightened as Jazz's form of comforting, " _'M sorry._ "

Jazz followed Ratchet and Ironhide's vehicles as they made their way to the bridge in which Optimus was hiding under.

By now, the helicopters, SUVs and agents were gone along with Sam, Mikaela and Bumblebee. Much to everyone's dismay.

Jazz carefully set Kadence down, "Hang back, 'm gonna check it out." Jazz swung himself between two pillars before disappearing underneath. The soft conversation of Jazz and Optimus could be heard.

"Optimus. Are we just gonna stand here and do nothing?" Jazz seemed just as confused and angry as Kadence did.

Kadence crossed her arms and shivered against the cold, glaring at the direction where the helicopters and SUVs disappeared. She felt something press against her back before she turned and saw Ironhide's large finger, "They'll be fine."

"There's no way to free Bumblebee without harming the humans."

The red head glanced up to Ironhide before shaking her head and going to the ledge to see the two Autobots talking. She missed the fact that the black Autobot flinched at her sad gaze.

Jazz gestured, "But it's not right-"

"Let them leave."

The lieutenant lowered his hand and stared at the Prime. For once, Optimus didn't make a move to help, and that surprised the grey Autobot. Optimus grabbed the fallen glasses and gazed at them.

* * *

 _May 20, 2007_

It was late in the evening. The Autobots drove to the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.

Jazz and Kadence stood on the roof above Ratchet and Ironhide while Optimus stood farther away, he was focused on the glasses.

"Please, let this work…" He said before raising himself and looking to the Autobots.

"Fire it up, Optimus," Jazz said from the roof.

He emitted a blue light from his eyes onto the glasses, a globe of Earth appeared, North America facing towards Kadence, "The code…The code on these glasses indicates the Allspark is two-hundred and thirty miles from here."

Kadence groaned before sweeping her hand over her face, "That's another five hours of driving."

Optimus turned to her, "Do you know where this could be? The directions are northeast."

She looked down for a second, thinking, before picking up her head, "It depends. Is it hidden or in plain sight?"

"The energy is hidden," the Prime pointed at the exact coordinates, the bottom right of Nevada, just on the edge of Arizona, "What is in this location?"

"All I know is desert and..." Kadence thought. A tourist attraction at the Colorado River couldn't possibly be where it is? "Hoover Dam?"

"I sense the Decepticons are getting ready to mobilize," Ratchet looked to a nodding Ironhide.

"They must know it's here as well."

Jazz continued, and the Autobots turned to look up at him, for once, he wasn't short, "What about Bumblebee? We can't jus' leave 'im there t' _die_ …"

Kadence crossed her arms, "I doubt they'll kill him, Jazz. Might become some…human experiment."

Optimus cut in with a stern voice, "He'll die in vain if we don't accomplish our mission. Bumblebee is a brave soldier," Optimus pointed to the ground to set down his claim, "This is what he would want."

 _How do you know that?_

Ironhide glanced to Kadence before looking back to Optimus, he narrows his eyes, " _Why_ are we fighting to save the humans? They're a primitive and violent race."

"Were we so different? They're a young species, they have much to learn," They all looked to Kadence as though she were to resemble the human race, "But I've seen goodness in them. Freedom is the right of all sentient beings. You all know there's only one way to end this war; we must destroy the Cube. If all else fails, I will unite it with the spark in my chest."

The Autobot leader pulled his chestplates to reveal a glowing blue orb to himself. Ratchet cut him off, "That's suicide; the Cube is raw power, it could destroy you both!"

"A necessary sacrifice to bring peace to this planet. We cannot let the humans pay for our mistakes," He glanced to Kadence once more, "It's been an honor serving with you all."

 _But if you die, who will save us? Why can't we fuse the Cube with Megatron's spark, if he has one?_ Kadence wasn't able to speak her thoughts, for Optimus had already said, "Autobots, roll out!"

Jazz scooped up Kadence, "We rollin'!"


	7. Sound the Alarm

**Chapter 6**

" **Sound the Alarm"**

 _May 21, 2007_

The night came and went, no words were exchanged and Kadence was exceedingly bored. The Autobots were occupied with driving and she was becoming carsick from staring out the window.

They were almost there. The team has covered about two hundred of the total mileage.

The red head resorted to music on Jazz's radio and proceeded to stare out the window at the desert that now surrounded the short line of vehicles, led by Optimus and tailed by Ironhide, who couldn't decide if he wanted to be behind Optimus or Ratchet. He also peeked out from behind Optimus to see ahead. Least to say, he was becoming fidgety.

She watched the desert pass by and welcomed the carsickness. A flash of yellow crossed her vision and she whipped around to see a familiar Camaro speed down the opposite side of the road along with military Hummers. Kadence look at Jazz's dash, "You see that?"

" _Ya, Optimus is whippin' around,_ " and she looked at the semi blaring its horn before drifting to the other side, making a large U-turn that was followed by Jazz, then Ratchet. Ironhide had a hard time making the sharp U-turn.

Kadence gripped the door handle as Jazz easily made the turn, leaving tire marks on the road as did the rest. Jazz drove up to tail Ironhide and Bumblebee. The Hummers were in the middle, then Ratchet and Optimus.

The red head looked to her phone and found Sam in her contacts, then called. Sam picked up, " _Yeah?_ "

"Where are we going?"

" _Mission City, it's only twenty-two miles away…Well, we covered about ten…_ "

Kadence placed a hand on her forehead, "You do realize this is not a good idea."

"… _Yeah…_ "

" _Why are we bringing the Allspark into a city? Is that not dangerous?"_ Kadence jumped when she heard Optimus' voice appear in the line.

"Yeah, why Mission?"

" _We're apparently going to hide the Cube in the city…'Cause if we stayed in the dam, we're screwed…"_

" _What do you mean by that?_ " Ironhide's voice appeared in the line. Kadence wouldn't be surprised if all the Autobots were listening.

" _Megatron was in there._ "

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me. I don't think we'd be able to hide the Allspark if Megatron's on our asses."

" _Kadence is right…With the raw energy the Allspark gives off, the Decepticons could find it in no time,_ " Ratchet began.

" _While most likely destroying the city,_ " Ironhide finished. Kadence could hear his grave tone and see the gruff face of the Autobot.

" _Alright, look. We're just following whatever the men in the military say. I mean, the Secretary of Defense was there._ "

"Sam," Kadence swept her hand over her face again, "Even for you, this is pretty damn ridiculous."

" _I agree,_ " Ironhide said.

" _This wasn't my call._ "

She sighed, and muttered, "Why of all places?"

* * *

Soon, they began driving on a much larger highway. The Autobots were side by side, Jazz driving next to Bumblebee. Kadence waved at the two teenagers in the Camaro.

Hearing a siren, Kadence turned around to see a familiar police cruiser, a tank and a Buffalo mine-clearing vehicle, "Uh…Jazz?"

" _Prime's got it._ "

She looks to see Ironhide, Ratchet and Optimus block the three Decepticons' paths. The mine-clearing vehicle transforms and slices through a bus, letting it burn. The Peterbilt ahead slam on its brakes before transforming and ramming into the mine-clearing Decepticon, they tumbled off the bridge.

"Is Optimus going to be okay?"

" _Yeah, he got it._ "

The convoy continued on its way to Mission, leaving Optimus to deal with the Decepticons behind. Minutes later of speeding down the highway, they reached Mission City.

"Alright, take cover! Bumblebee," Ironhide gestured the scout over, and together they lifted a truck to shield themselves, the black Autobot turned to the humans, "Back up, back up!"

Kadence ran beside a building and watched as Jazz knelt to protect her, they stared up at each other before seeing a F-22 jet fire its missiles at them.

"Incoming!"

They all ducked as the missiles hit, one directly hitting the truck Ironhide and Bumblebee resided under. Jazz curled over Kadence and braced himself against the debris, one hand against the building and the other on the ground.

Jazz transformed into the Solstice and inspected Bumblebee, who lied on his stomach and struggled to crawl towards Sam, who was saying, "Bumblebee, you gotta get up. You're okay, you're okay," the teenager turned his head, "Ratchet!"

Sam pressed his hand against Jazz as a gesture to back up, and he complied. Kadence raced over, and gasped at Bumblebee. His legs were gone from the knee down.

Jazz opened his door for Kadence and she climbed in, " _We gotta get you outta here._ "

"What about Bumblebee?" No reply was given as she slid the seatbelt over her chest.

Jazz immediately sped down the road, dodging people and cars with Ratchet and Ironhide following. His radio clicked on, " _I'm gonna need you to get out and run._ "

"What?" Kadence looked forward to see the tank from earlier and then understood why. She nodded.

He didn't slow down a bit when he transformed and released her onto the ground, she landed unceremoniously. She ran, speeding past Ironhide who dodged missiles as they hurtled their way.

Kadence ran as fast as she could, ignoring the screams of other people as she tried to dodge them. Sirens, gunfire, shouts were everywhere. Her heart was pounding in her ears and chest, and her breath was hitched. The adrenaline rush came easily to her, running across the street into another one to get away from the tank Decepticon.

"Chew on this, Decepticon punk!"

Kadence turned her head to see Jazz dealing with the massive tank; climbing onto the top as it transformed, diverting the tank's large barrel aim and spinning and kicking off the missiles.

She could see exactly why Jazz was first lieutenant with the way he fights; not afraid of his height difference. He was brave.

The tank grabbed Jazz by the shoulder, pulled him down and threw him into a building, right in the direction Kadence was running. She ran up to him, "Jazz, c'mon, you gotta get up."

"Lil' lady, I told you to _run_ ," he sounded a little frustrated, his accent disappearing momentarily.

"Okay, look… I was running this way and you crashed into the building. _Get up_ ," She patted his wrist and he pulled himself up and saw the dead body of the Decepticon.

"Guess they took care o' him," He joined the other two Autobots, Ironhide and Ratchet, only to see a familiar foreign jet fly nearby, "It's Megatron! Retreat!

"Move!"

"Fallback!"

Jazz peeked over the corner, only to jump away as Megatron skid to a halt, looking at all the humans run. The grey Autobot activated his shield, only to be blown away by one of Megatron's bullets. Kadence watched as he continued to fight with the Decepticon leader, who had to of been three times his size. Megatron flew to a building and landed, trapping Jazz under his foot.

Glancing around, Kadence found a gun that a retreating soldier left behind. She grabbed it and positioned herself on the hood of a car, not caring for the screams around her. She was focused on Megatron, who had grabbed Jazz and the Autobot shot him a couple times in the knee and hip, Megatron barely flinching as he held Jazz by the foot.

 _Okay, here's the plan…_ She began to think to herself, then cursed under her breath, _I don't have a plan!_

Their voices echoed, and she could hear Megatron growl, "Come here you little cretin!"

Kadence hesitated on the gun's trigger, deadly mistake.

"You want a piece of me? You want a piece!"

"No! I want…two!" And with that, Megatron grabbed Jazz and ripped him in half, the grey Autobot crying out in pain.

Kadence lowered the gun and gaped in shock at Jazz. Megatron stared right at her and seemed to have smiled as he relaxed his shoulders and held Jazz's two pieces as though they were nothing.

Megatron just ripped Jazz in half.

She repeated the thought in her head, again and again. Before snapping out of her daze to see Megatron focused on something behind her. Kadence looked behind her to see Optimus, ready to fight.

"Megatron!"

"Prime!" The Decepticon leader bellowed, seeming to be pleased to see the Autobot. Caring less about Jazz's remains, he threw them away. Megatron transformed and charged at Optimus, who grabbed onto the wings of the Decepticon.

From afar, Kadence could faintly hear Ironhide, "Sam, get to the building!"

The red head found herself subconsciously running towards Jazz's remains, well, one of the…pieces… She found him and stared at the dark visor that he now bore. _He can't be gone…_

Kadence couldn't stop staring at the blank face of Jazz, and repeated, _he can't be gone!_

 _I had a damn gun in my hand, I could have saved him… He…can't be gone_ , she was having her mental breakdown all the while staring at him. She surveyed the damage and saw his torso had been ripped, the right arm and both legs torn off and thrown elsewhere. Kadence felt bile rising in her throat.

 _This can't be happening, he can't be gone._

The battle was but a blur to her as she continued her blank stare at his visor. _He did buy time for everyone to retreat… but… He can't be gone, can he?_

She couldn't grasp on the fact that he was dead. It was all so sudden, so much happening, she barely had time to process it. Clenching her stomach, she ran elsewhere to empty her stomach, only to return to Jazz, keeping a vigil; on her knees while watching him, hoping for some movement from the motionless body.

Kadence couldn't hear what was going on, nor did she care.

The girl had no clue how long she had been sitting there, ignoring the commotion around her.

She felt something warm press against her back, but didn't even register it, even when it began rubbing her back in a soothing manner. Finally realizing it being there, she closed her eyes and reopened them to see what it was.

The red head was greeted with the grave face of Ironhide.

"It's over," he said, but she couldn't hear. She was numb all over.

The teenager spoke her thoughts, the only words uttered were, "He can't be gone."

His face fell even more, if that was possible. She glanced at the metal object he held in his right hand, it was Jazz's other half.

Trying in vain to distract her from Jazz, he turned to hide the other half and grabbed her attention, "Megatron is dead. Sam killed him."

Kadence gave a humorless laugh, trying to joke, "Sam? Killing the Decepticon leader?" She wanted to say, but the words only choked her. Her stomach still threatened to purge itself, she didn't dare open her mouth to speak. Her vision spun as she suddenly became lightheaded.

Ironhide gave her a concerned expression. He was worried for her, she looked broken. He held out his hand, palm up, for her to climb on, and she complied. The black Autobot led her to his shoulder and she sat there as he collected Jazz's remains and walked towards where the Autobots were.

The weapons specialist walked up to Optimus, "We couldn't save him," he said as he handed the Prime Jazz's remains.

"Aw, Jazz…" The Autobot leader turned to everyone, "We lost a great comrade, but gained new ones. Thank you, all of you. You honor us with your bravery."

Kadence couldn't stop staring at Jazz, her breathing was ragged and her eyes were wide. Her stomach was still unsettled, and she placed a hand there as an attempt to sooth it, only to wince as it shot pain through her.

"Easy," Ironhide said to her, hearing her struggling.

Bumblebee turned from his position chained to a tow truck, a voice laced with a British accent came from him, "Permission to speak, sir."

"Permission granted, old friend."

Sam looked up to him in disbelief, "You speak now?"

The scout looked down to Sam, "I wish to stay with the boy."

"If that is his choice."

Sam smiled and looked up to Optimus, "Yes."

 _I wonder if Jazz would have wanted to stay with me?_ Her eyes found Jazz again, and her stomach became queasy all over again.

Optimus crouched over Megatron's corpse and took out a shard of the Allspark, he examined it before closing a fist around it.

"Anyone know where Kadence is?" Sam said, looking around, clearly not seeing her on Ironhide's shoulder until she cleared her throat.

Ironhide set her down, and she clambered off his hand. She scanned the crowd of soldiers, her eyes locking with one of them, both were surprised.

It was the Captain of the military group who had caught her eye. He just stood there, mouth agape before he said, "Kadence."

"Dad," she breathed out before sprinting over to him and tackling the man in a hug.

The red head hadn't seen him in over a year, and he was thought to be dead after the attack in Qatar. Will was her father… Her beloved father.

"Hey, are you feeling okay?"

She realized she was leaning on him when he said those words. Now that he mentions it, she felt lightheaded and her stomach still hurt. She didn't have the strength to speak.

Will looked at her to ensure she was okay, before he stopped, "Kadence…" he began, she followed his eyes to her stomach, only to see red, "You're bleeding."

She let out a cold laugh, not caring if all attention was directed towards her in a worried manner, but she just stared at the blood that now stained her shirt. This was why her stomach hurt…

…A small shrapnel was protruding from her side.

She collapsed; fell onto her knees, still not caring about anything around her. It was just her and Will… Her and her grief over Jazz. Her and the injury.

Her and the darkness swarming her vision.


	8. Healing

**Chapter 7**

" **Healing"**

 _May 21, 2007_

Kadence opened her eyes to muffled voices and a loud sound, like a siren. It sounded like she was submerged in water. She had something firmly pressed against her side, and a dull pain was coming from it.

She looked around and winced at the bright light pointing at her face.

The red head faintly felt a hand on her cheek and she looked at the source. It was a man, brown hair…he looked familiar. _Dad._

"I wanna go home," She groaned.

He gave a pained smile, "Don't worry, sweetheart, we'll be back before you know it."

Kadence winced at both the pain and the all too familiar sentence. She felt Will's thumb caress her cheek. It stayed there, even as she drifted into sleep.

* * *

 _June 6, 2007_

Ironhide drove up the gravel driveway, opening his door to release Will from the passenger seat. The man kissed Kadence before closing the door.

The TopKick drove away just as Will held his baby girl.

Kadence winced against the seatbelt as she leaned to pull out her phone from her pocket. She turned it on and went to her contacts, she called her brother.

"Hey you."

" _Kadence! God, where have you been these past few weeks?_ "

"Hospital."

The red head heard her younger sisters over the line. Then Kai asked, " _How's Dad?_ "

"Dad's fine. We just dropped him off, got to hold Annabelle for the first time."

She heard her sisters give an "Aw." Kai hushed them, " _Mom's been worried sick this entire time. We've been worried._ "

Kadence smiled sheepishly, and scratched the back of her neck, "Yeah…I got caught in the Mission City mess."

" _What happened to you?_ "

"I had a piece of shrapnel stuck in my stomach…I'm okay though, it's healing quickly."

She could just hear Kai scoff, " _You always get hurt, one way or another._ "

"Aw, my little brother is finally caring about my wellbeing, huh?" She laughed at his denial and watched as Ironhide drove up the hill to the cliff where the Autobots reside, "Alright, well I gotta go. I'll see you guys later?"

" _Alright, yeah, love you,_ " Kai said, the girls echoing.

"Love you too," She ended the call and pushed Ironhide's passenger seat forward to get out. He opened the door for her and she jumped out with ease, if not with a little pain from her side.

" _Careful_ ," Kadence heard him say through the radio speakers.

Walking past the Camaro, she covered her eyes, seeing Mikaela lower herself onto Sam to kiss. _Poor 'Bee…_ She rolled her eyes and shook her head with a faint smile.

Ironhide drove to sit behind Ratchet's alt. mode. Optimus stood with his hands on his hips, watching the sunset.

Will invited the Autobots to stay with him and Sarah for the time being as a better place to reside at is being built. A treaty is also being created between humans and the Autobots, planned to be called the Non-biological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty. All they need, is Optimus to agree on it once it is organized by him and the government.

Kadence patted Ironhide's hood as she passed, heading for the tree to relax. He flashed his headlights in acknowledgement and she smiled. Optimus had assigned Ironhide as Will and Kadence's guardian upon the black Autobot's request.

She took out her phone and plugged in her earbuds, then scrolled down her music list to Linkin Park's Minute to Midnight album and tapped What I've Done. The three and a half minute song began playing, and she gazed at the sunset.

The red head has tried her best not to think of Jazz. Her thoughts lingered on him for countless minutes and she just couldn't shake it. Kadence stared longingly at the sunset, _could I have saved Jazz?_

 _If I had just pulled the trigger earlier, maybe I would have. I could have saved him... But now he's dead because I was too scared to pull that trigger. Because I hesitated… Why had I done so?_

Kadence looked back up to the regal Prime, he seemed to be interested in watching the sunset. She let her back slide down on the tree she was propped up against until her bottom hit the ground, she let out a sigh as the song ended.

Optimus turned his head to look at Kadence, his torso had slightly turned with his head. The Prime let out a soft sigh, almost mimicking Kadence's. He knelt down and placed a finger under the red head's chin to make her look at her, "You couldn't save him, but it was a great effort to try. Thank you."

Kadence couldn't hold it anymore, she broke her masked emotions and let her eyes water.

Optimus moved his finger away to give her space. The red head used the back of her hand to wipe an oncoming tear away. She looked down to her small feet, "I could have..."

The Prime shook his head, "Jazz's death was not in vain. My lieutenant would have wanted this, to die a hero." She nodded.

Optimus whirred and shifted, standing back up to watch the sunset once more, intrigued by its colors.

" _With the AllSpark gone, we cannot return life to our planet. And fate has yielded its reward: a new world to call... home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight... but watching over them in secret... waiting... protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage, and though we are worlds apart, like us, there's more to them than meets the eye. I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars: We are here... we are waiting._ "

* * *

 _June 8, 2007_

Kadence had gotten up bright and early, just after the sun's golden self had risen to a more white color through the trees. All morning colors had disappeared by the time she got out of the shower, being a yellow-orange when she woke.

The girl dressed herself in denim cut off shorts and a baggy white tee, the collar being a thick lace. She walked barefoot throughout the house, making her way to the kitchen.

Gasping, Kadence stopped in her tracks in the threshold that divided the living room's foyer and the kitchen. A middle aged man was standing in front of the counter with a glass in hand. She flinched when his glasses-clad eyes found her, he held out the water to her, "Water?"

She gaped, he sounded like... "Ratchet?"

"Yes," he stepped forward and placed the water in her hand, "This is called a holoform."

"'Holoform?'" Kadence said, testing the word.

It had been a couple days since the sunset the Autobots watched in the Lennox's massive backyard. Kadence still thought about what Optimus had said.

Ratchet nodded, or at least, his human form did, "It allows us to blend in with humans better."

"When did you create it?"

"Long ago, on an exploratory mission here on Earth. I've already made the holoforms for the rest of the Autobots, I just have to install them."

"Exploratory mission…You were the one that found out about the Allspark?"

"Precisely," He said, Kadence nodded in understanding. And nodded again when he asked, "Would you like to help me install the holoforms?" He held up microchips in his hands.

It took the rest of the afternoon to install them. They had to wait, since Bumblebee wasn't near the Lennox residence, he was with his charge, nor was Optimus, who was previously in a meeting.

Now, it was about six, and Kadence resorted to drawing on notebook paper. The Autobots' holoforms have been tested and they now sat on the couch. Optimus seemed to like to sit on the beige living room chair though.

Kadie taps the tip of her pencil on her lip, staring at the wall while leaned back in her chair, one foot on the edge of the desk, the other on the chair.

She took a deep sigh and sat up, taking the pencil away from her mouth and tossed it onto the desk, where the paper of unidentifiable sketches lie.

"What 'cha thinking about, Kade?" Will says, turning all curious eyes to her.

The red head leans down in her seat, taking another breath, then shakes her head and mutters, "Trying to figure something out."

"Like what?" Rob, having come to visit the Lennox's to see Annabelle, says from the couch next to Ironhide and Ratchet's holoforms.

Kadence shakes her head, folds up the paper and slips it into her pocket, "Nothin'," she sets her forehead on the desk, "I am sore all over and I have this massive headache. Might be a migraine..."

"I ran ten blocks, and I feel fine," Sam says, sounding a little proud he's "better than the athlete."

The red head picks up her head and glares at the boy, "I almost bled to death after trying to save-…ugh," she moaned and thumped her head onto the desk upon feeling an oncoming headache.

Sarah comes over and rubs the back of the wallowing red head, "You need anything, sweetheart?"

"No." Sarah nods and goes to the kitchen. A minute later, Sarah comes back with a glass of water with ice. Kadence picks up her head as Sarah sets the glass down, and mutters a "thank you."

Will peels his eyes away from the teen and looks to Optimus, "Guess we're going to leave soon?"

The Prime nods, "Your government has said that we'll be going in a week."

Sam looks between the two in confusion, "Go where?"

"The governments of your world wish to meet us and settle on the pact to create peace between our species," Optimus says, "We would appreciate it if you, Mikaela and Kadence were to come along as our temporary Autobot ambassadors."

Kadence set the now half full glass of water, and looks to Optimus, then gives a weak smile, "I'd love to help out." Mikaela echoed, as did Sam and the Autobot leader nodded.

* * *

 _June 9, 2007_

Kadence snuck down the stairs, holding onto the railing to support some of her dizzying weight and tried not to wince at the sharp pain in her side. Her head snapped up when she heard a throat being cleared with a raspy "ahem."

"Uh...Hey, Ratch...et?" She bites her lip, not sure if the medic liked to be called just "Ratch."

He nods his head as a greeting, "Hello, Kadence. How are you feeling?"

She waved his question off tiredly, "Can't sleep?"

"No, you?" She shook her head and pursed her lips. There was a moment of silence before Ratchet spoke again, keeping his voice low, "What brings you down here?"

"I was hoping to find you."

"Oh. What for, it's the middle of the night, is it not?"

"Four o' clock..." Kadence took the folded piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Ratchet. He took it and opened it up. His eyes widened a fraction in surprise, then turned into understanding.

"You were trying to learn how we work, weren't you?"

She nodded and looked down, "I want to fix Jazz."

Ratchet's eyes brighten, his expression turns solemn, "Oh, Kadie...You know he's gone."

"Yeah but, I looked at him...He's practically still intact. He just needs more of the blue fluid- _energon_ , and to be repaired, and we could possibly jumpstart his spark. It just might work...Come on Ratchet, please?"

He rubbed his reddish stubble in thought, "I don't know..."

"Would you rather try, and possibly succeed, or never try and never know the outcome? It's worth a shot...It's not gonna hurt us, Ratchet. Please?"

"Jazz is avenged, and I'm sure he'd rather stay in the Well of All Sparks."

Kadence balled her fists and shut her eyes before opening them, "Avenging him won't bring him back."

"Jazz's remains are in the abyss anyhow…"

Her lips twiched upward, "That's where you're wrong," she beckoned him, and he followed her outside and into the Lennox's barn, she turn on her flashlight and shined it at a cluster of metal. Kadence looked to the holoform, "I managed to sneak him out."

"Wh- How?"

"I have my ways," The red head walked up to the lifeless body of Jazz and looked at the torn pieces, wires were sticking out and metal was warped. She took a piece of limp metal in her hand and examined it, then looked to Ratchet, "This is almost like the metal used on cars…"

He nodded, "Our armor is what we transform into."

"What about the metal inside?"

Ratchet's holoform ran a hand over a piece of warped metal, "We still have the leftovers from Bumblebee's repairs," the CMO looked at the damage done to Jazz, "He'd have to change his alt. mode should this work."

"Yeah…I was done with the Solstice anyway. It doesn't seem entirely his style."

Ratchet looked to her, "What do you think is?"

The red head walked over to her large set of tools, and shrugged while gathering them, "I dunno... A Porsche or something."

"I'll grab the leftover metal," His holoform said before blinking out of existence. Kadence expressionlessly stared at the spot Ratchet used to stand, then at Jazz's dark visor.

 _He can_ not _be gone._


	9. Obdurate

**Chapter 8**

" **Obdurate"**

 _June 12, 2007_

Ratchet held a strand of Kadence's hair, she watched as he rubbed it in between his fingers and let it fall back onto her shoulder. He glanced down to her hand and sighed, "You need to be more careful."

Kadence sheepishly chuckled, "I know. Catching my hair on fire was not pleasant. Remind me to get hairties."

"Noted," The holoform turned back around and picked up the welder, continuing the teenager's work. What had happened was that a loose strand of hair fell into the flame of the welder and it caught on fire. Kadence had her gloves off at the time, and took out the flame on her hair with her hand. Bad idea.

She flexed her hand, wincing at the stinging pain it gave her.

"You should put some salve on that," Ratchet said, turning off the flame and setting the welder down. He turned to Kadence and looked at her hand that seemed to have slightly blistered.

"I know," The red head smiled.

Ratchet picked up the piece of newly-welded metal, running a finger over the welds. He glanced to her before going back to observing the metal, "So… I don't normally see it. Is your hair… What's it called? Dyed?"

"It's called dyed, and no…It's natural."

The CMO set down the metal, "I thought human hair came in a small variety of colors…?"

The teen simply shrugged, "Both my hair and my eyes look unnatural. Dunno why," Ratchet only nodded at this, blankly staring at the teen that stood only a couple inches from his tall holoform. She washed her hands, grimacing at the sting of the burn, "Did you copy me? Make your hair red and eyes blue, like mine?"

Ratchet simply chuckled, "No, no. I've had this holoform for quite some time now. Ever since the exploratory mission."

"I was wondering about the horn-rimmed glasses," she glanced to Ratchet before turning off the small sink and drying her hands off, "I don't see many people wear them anymore."

The CMO pulled his glasses off his nose and examined them, "Yeah, I'm sure these have gone out of style. Do you suggest I change them?"

"Eh, I kinda like them," Kadence began to walk out the open barn doors, "I'm gonna go see if Sarah has anything for these burns."

She walked out and heard Ratchet say, "Aloe works well."

"Okay!" She shouted, continuing to make her way to the house, which was a well ways away. Kadence walked in and greeted Ironhide and Will, who were talking in the kitchen.

Ironhide's holoform was a bit scary, if not intimidating. His arms were bulky with muscle, as was everything else. His arms were crossed, showing off the biceps. His face was littered with scars, one particular scar covering his right eye in a cliché style. The Autobot's jet black hair was styled in a half-shaved cut, which clearly suited him. He had one earring, a silver ring, in his left ear and a couple tattoos running on his arms, a particular tat having the GMC logo in black, Kadence wouldn't doubt it if he had one on his back too.

He wore all black; black cargo pants, a tight lighter black shirt and black army boots. He previously wore a leather jacket, but has since taken it off. It was always sunny outside, and it quickly became hot for him, so he decided otherwise.

Kadence walked past the Autobot and ruffled his hair, "I think a fedora would go nicely with your outfit."

"Why a fedora?" He grumbled, fixing his disheveled hair.

The red head shrugged, "Might look good."

"Kade, what happened to your hand?" Will said, looking at her clutched hand, and seeing the small burns.

"Minor burns… I had a little accident with the welder," Kadence continued to walk out the kitchen and through the living room, greeting the other two Autobots and walking up the stairs that were to her left. She knocked on a familiar door, "Sarah, can I come in?"

"Yeah," a feminine voice from inside said.

The teenager opened the door and waved with her unburned hand, "Hey, you got any salve?"

Sarah sat up from the bed and looked at her, "What happened?"

The teen held up her hand and showed the burns, "A little accident… Burned my hair. But this kind of stings…"

"Right, right. Come," Sarah had her follow into a bathroom, where she opened the cabinet and searched through the stacks of containers she owned, "A-ha!" The woman placed a container onto the counter, "Do you need my help?"

"That would be nice."

Sarah was a part-time nurse, but ever since Annabelle's birth, she's been on a long maternity leave, saying how her husband usually left for military reasons. Which was true, but now he was staying for a while with the Autobots, as was Kadence. She was about to end the leave and return to work, maybe stick for a little while then become a stay-at-home mother.

"Thanks," Kadence said, looking at her now bandaged hand. Sarah nodded and shooed her out of the room. The red head walked downstairs, greeting her lovely three-legged dog, who happened to run up to her and beg for attention, Kadence crouched down to hug the big fluffy dog, letting her lick her hands and face, "Hi, Mindy."

The red head continued to walk on, the old white dog following behind her, she glanced to Optimus as he inquired, "What happened to one of her legs?"

Now, different from Ironhide, Optimus' holoform screamed authority and demanded respect. His hair was raven black, if not of a more blue hue. He wore a blue and red jacket with a white tee underneath. He wore casual jeans and black shoes. The Prime had explained he wanted his holoform to not be so…intimidating like Ironhide's. Which he got.

"She had to get it amputated after an accident with chicken wire when she was young," Kadence sighed, "Silly dog…"

She could hear Ironhide grumbling in the kitchen, "Dogs… Pestering rodents…"

The red head could do nothing but chuckle, "Ironhide, she's not gonna do anything to you. She's too old," she turned back to the dog, "All you do is trot around and sniff _everything_ ," She looked up to Will, "Where's Pepito?"

The man scratched the back of his neck, "Uh, I just let him out to run around, probably went to the barn."

"Whelp, she must have greeted Ratchet then…" Kadence let Mindy out in front of her before walking out and letting the backdoor close behind her. She ran with the white dog down to the barn, where she was greeted by the young energetic dog, Pepito, a German Shepherd, "Were you bothering Ratchet?"

"Quite frankly," The grump said from inside, "Wouldn't quit trying to sniff me…"

"Eh, he's young and doesn't really obey orders. That's why he's no longer in the K-9 unit. It's like he has a hyperactivity disorder… No more like ADHD…" Kadence said, watching the young dog prance around Mindy, who was _not_ dealing with him today.

"He used to be a military dog?"

"Yes, my Dad's unit used to have a K-9 program…But it's been gone for a while. And Pepito was one of the unlucky military dogs that couldn't obey orders. They were going to put him down as a puppy until Dad brought him home to me. So I took him in."

Ratchet turned to her, "That's kind of you."

"Yeah," Kadence stood on her toes to see over the CMO's shoulders, "How're the repairs going?"

The Autobot simply nodded, "Well."

 **[Insert horiztonal line here]**

Kadence was on her knees, both hands busy pulling up the relatively large window in her room. She stood on her bed and slipped out the window, grabbing onto the upper edge as something to steady her as she balanced the balls of her feet on the ledge.

The red head pulled herself up onto the roof directly above the window and sat down, getting comfortable. She gazed up at the night sky, letting her eyes scan each and every star in the very visible Milky Way. Letting out a content sigh, she lied her head back onto the roof and looked at the full moon. It was the first moon of the month, June thirtieth is supposed to be a blue moon; a rare occurrence of a second full moon happening in one month.

She let her eyes roam over each glistening star, each one brighter than the previous. Some stars just above the horizon were actually distant planes, most likely flying around the city.

An all too familiar sound resounded through the silent air, interrupting the quiet chirping of crickets, the occasional croak of a frog and the gentle breeze that rustled the trees.

"I don't understand what's so fascinating…" A deep accented voice said from her right, she turned her head in response and was greeted with the mechanical face of Ironhide, "They're just stars."

Kadence sighed, "You guys get to travel through space all the time…Only a few select people from Earth get to fly into space. And because of light pollution…Stars aren't always visible. Especially in places like the eastern part of our country…It is _busy_ over there," she pointed to Ironhide, "I'm gonna quote Optimus on this, we're a young species. We haven't seen as much as you have. Hell, we haven't even gotten a man on Mars."

The black Autobot snorted, "It's silly how unadvanced your technology is."

"It's silly how you look down upon us. We're growing, Ironhide."

"Yeah, okay," was all he said before he transformed. Kadence sighs and looks back up to the sky, spotting a couple constellations. She closed her eyes; peaceful and content until she heard a _thump_ beside her and she opened her eyes to see the holoform of Ironhide, lying down next to her. The Autobot looked to her, "What?"

Kadence looked away and smiled, "Nothing, nothing."

She tried not to note how close they were; arms barely skimming and hands resting next to each other. When they looked at one another, they were barely a few inches away, they could gaze into the other's eyes and feel their breaths reflecting.

A cliché moment, indeed.

"Is Cybertron visible?"

Ironhide hummed in thought at this, he gazed up at the star, his own eyes scanning over each one, "I'm not entirely sure. It's lightyears away. Our planet is but a, 'I'm gonna quote Optimus on this,' 'barren wasteland' now…It used to shine as bright as a star when it was alive, now it most likely just dimly reflects a nearby star…Probably too far to see."

"Oh."

Kadence tried her best not to look back at Ironhide as she saw in her peripheral vision him looking at her. _Was he studying her? What was he thinking? Oh gosh, is he checking me out? What am I thinking! He's just an Autobot._

 **[Insert horizontal line here]**

 _June 13, 2007_

 _It was his bright idea-…And I'll be damned!_

Ironhide grabbed Kadence's wrist, which held a stake, and flipped the red head onto her back. Maneuvering his way to grab the stake, he pinned her down and held the stake above her chest. Both were breathing heavily and stayed in that position for a few moments. Their sweaty faces were just inches apart.

Kadence closed her eyes in attempt to ease her breathing. But failed as she felt Ironhide watching her. Her face flushed even more. She didn't move, nor did he. The red head's grasp left his wrist and her arm fell above her head, resulting in a forfeit.

The holoform triumphantly sat up, more like straddled, hesitating for a few seconds before hauling himself off of her. She could hear his footsteps fade, before they came back. The Autobot tossed a wet cloth onto her face. He smiled as she groaned and tiredly grabbed the cloth and sat up.

It had become hot, Kadence had cargo pants on, a tank top and her sweater was tied around her waist. Both had socks on, their shoes pushed off to the side. Ironhide's new fedora rested beside his shoes, as did his black leather jacket. He too wore his cargo pants with a tight fitting t-shirt.

"You sure you've never had previous experiences?" He glanced at her before shoving his face into his own cloth. The red head only grunted in response, causing Ironhide to chuckle under his breath.

"If you mean experiencing the pain of losing," Kadence paused, "Then, yes."

The holoform shook his head with a more audible chuckle. Kadence had loved Ironhide's laugh, it was always warm and welcoming. As well as reserved for her.

"Aw, c'mon Kade. Let's turn those experiences from losing, to winning," Will held out his hand for her to grab, which she gladly accepted. Will paused before announcing Optimus needed him. They bid their farewells. Ironhide's eyes watched Will walk back inside the house using the backdoor. Kadence caught this and smirked.

She walked off of the mats and over to Ironhide, she ran a hand across his back, and in a teasing tone, she said, "Aw, 'Hide's jealous of my dad that he got to be a gentleman and help me up? Poor Ironhide."

Kadence tried her best not to laugh as she watched Ironhide's face blush. She never thought a cliché would go vice versa. The Autobot subtly hid his face in the cloth, hiding his now red face. Kadence placed her hand on his shoulder and used the other one to bright the cloth away from his face. She smiled at the sight of his revealed jealousy.

"Wanna go again?"

He glared at her and she couldn't help but laugh this time. Taking that as a no, she looked around. "I love how nobody else is here," Sarah returned to work, Annie was taking a nap, Will was with Optimus, Ratchet was in the barn and Bumblebee was with Sam.

The Autobot nodded, "So that we won't get distracted."

"Or draw in a crowd." Kadence spotted his TopKick and changed the subject, "You know what you really need?" He hummed in response, the red head pointed towards the massive truck covered in dirt and pollen, "A wash."

"Are you suggesting you wash me?"

"No. I'm suggesting you need to wash yourself," Kadence laughed as she thought about it, "I get that you're a car n' all. But it's just like how we wash ourselves in a shower. You can wash yourself with a hose. I don't need to do it."

"Loser of next round has to wash me."

"Fine."

The pair walked back onto the dusty clearing and slid into their positions. "After you," Ironhide smiled as she shook her head, not wanting to go first. That was the mistake of the entire fight with Ironhide, whoever goes first, loses. Every time. And usually, that was her. "Catching on quickly, I see?"

Ironhide lunged. Both had their ups and downs when fighting. The brute was all strength, while Kadence was all agility. And with that agility, Kadence dodged and jabbed her elbow into the holoform's back, stunning him before she swung her leg, catching onto his ankles and bringing him down. She placed her foot onto his back, and stood triumphant.

"Hmm, looks like you need a nice, good wash," Kadence stretched and smiled, "Hop to it then, 'Hide."

The Autobot muttered his curses as he shuffled his feet over to the TopKick. Kadence took a swig of her water before smiling brightly at the glaring Ironhide. He washed himself, spitting out more curses Kadence hadn't even imagined existed.

"Oh, stop it. You're just being a sore loser," the red head walked over to where he was. She took the hand he was holding the sponge with and showed him how to wash, "'Wax on, wax off.'"

Kadence stared at how big his hands were to hers. Her skin tone was a tad bit lighter than his tanned skin. The red head released his hand and walked over to the small pail of water he had and grabbed another sponge, walked back and began to help him clean.


	10. Conversations

**Chapter 9**

" **Conversations"**

 _June 14, 2007_

"Kadence?"

The red head dropped the crankshaft in her hand and looked behind her, it was Will, "Don't scare me like that!" She picked the crankshaft off of the table and made sure she didn't break anything upon dropping it out of freight.

"You ready?"

She didn't look at him, "For what?"

Will groaned and swept a hand over his face, "We're leaving with the Autobots for the agreeme-"

"Oh, right!" Kadence said, jumping up and immediately remembering. She raced out of the barn and into the house. Up the stairs and into her room where she changed out of her greasy clothes and into a new outfit; khaki shorts, a coral shirt with a matching flannel tied around her waist. She pulled on her Nikes and raced back out her room and was greeted with her father, "Okay…I'm ready."

The man looked at his wrist, which had a watch, "I think you beat your record; two minutes," he smiled and placed a hand on her back, leading her out and into the awaiting TopKick out front. She assumed Ratchet and Optimus have already left.

"I call shotgun," the red head said, smiling when Will groaned and climbed into the back. Ironhide activated his holoform as his engine started up, and he rolled out the driveway and onto the road. Kadence looked out the window, "So, how long's the car ride?"

"About an hour and a half."

She frowned and let her head drop back onto the headrest, "Great."

"The meeting doesn't start for another hour...We'll be late, but I think we're good."

"Not me," the red head huffed and stared out the window, passing by her neighbors' houses and their countless ancres of land, and muttered, "I'm gonna get carsick within a half hour."

Ironhide's holoform glanced at her, "By carsick, I hope you don't mean vomitting."

She laughed, "No, no... I simply get nauseated." He grunted. Kadence looked to the grumpy Autobot, "You know... There's something called English. I don't speak 'gruntanese' or 'gruntish.' All I know from it is your disapproving grunts and your approving ones."

"'Gruntanese?' 'Gruntish?' Is that the best you can come up with?" Ironhide smirked at her as she scoffed.

"Well, what do you call it?"

The holoform didn't reply, obviously not having an answer. Instead, he resorted to turning on the radio to hear whatever was on. There was country, which Kadence was not fond of, so she switched to a station that currently played Linkin Park. Kadence glanced at Will, then Ironhide and smiled, "We can all agree we like Linkin Park, right?"

"Sure."

"Mmhm." They both said that the same time, Ironhide still not using words. Numb blasted out of the speakers, Kadence singing along and smiling when Ironhide did nothing but glare, turning down the music. She kept singing, "Okay, now you're being louder than the song."

She stopped and gaped at him, then laughed, "What! _You_ turned it down, so of _course_ I'm gonna be louder than the song!" He grunted, she smacked his arm with the back of her hand, "Oh, stop it, you grump. Turn it back up if you don't like my singing."

"Never said I didn't like your singing, I was just stating you were being louder than the song itself."

Kadence gave him a look, "You know what... Just," she turned it back up, "There."

The rest of the ride was silent, a couple words exchanged between the three, but otherwise, silent. They passed by Mission City, seeing that some minor damage has been fixed, and civilians were living their lives once again. The city looked a little gloomy, after the events that happened not long ago, Kadence wasn't surprised. She subconsciously rubbed her side where the wound was healing, a dull pain was the response.

"You think they're gonna send you guys off the planet?"

The Autobot looked to her and sighed, "I highly doubt it. Considering the fact that there are still Decepticons out there... They might need us with our superior weapons," he chose his words carefully, "Plus, we have no where to go."

Will released a deep breath, "I hope the agreement doesn't include anything extreme..." They nodded in agreement.

Ironhide pulled up to a large building and parked next to a familiar flame decaled semi. He stepped out, as did his passengers. Will led the way inside, opening the door and walking through. His shoulders straightened as he gained his usual captain composure,

A man greeted him, "Captain Lennox." Will gave a curt nod and followed the man into a room where everyone sat at tables, The Autobots' holoforms sitting in the front while the humans were behind them. Kadence found a seat, sitting in between Will and Sam and behind Ironhide. The Secretary of Defense sat across the room along with multiple men in suits. Large screens lined the walls, all having the image of a person. She immediately recognized the President of the United States. Kadence's breath hitched as she realized that this was the United Nations.

"Sam," Kadence leaned over and whispered, "Fill me in."

"U.N. is deciding whether or not to allow the Autobots to stay...Under some circumstances, AKA they need to set some ground rules if they agree. Don't worry, you didn't miss much."

"Are we all here?" The Secretary said, looking over the small amount of people and nodding as he gained an affirmative from Optimus, "Alright, let us continue."

A member folded his hands and leaned in, "I want to get straight to the point... Maybe have your ambassadors help with this one. Why should we let you stay? There was enough damage in Mission City."

Kadence didn't give Optimus a chance to open his mouth, "There will much more damage if you force the Autobots to leave. Our world might as well be lost if there's nothing to stop the Decepticons."

"But, if you want us to leave, we will respect your wish and do so peacefully. Just know what you are doing and the risk you are taking." Kadence nodded in agreement.

"Okay..." One of the screens spoke, it has a heavy English accent, "As far as we know, the Autobots' home plant is... no longer habitable. And the AllSpark was your only chance of saving it," he gained a nod from the holoforms, "Yet you destroyed the Cube?"

"The Decepticons would have obtained it one way or another. If it fell into their hands, it could mean the end of you world," Optimus gravely said.

Ratchet continued, "They would build a new army and enslave humanity."

The U.N. nodded, understanding. One spoke up, a feminine voice, "So, in order to prevent that from happening... You had to sacrifice your only chance at returning to Cybertron."

Silent nods were their responses. The Prime next to Ironhide lowered his head, "In order to keep your planet safe."

"But we're still not safe?"

Optimus shook his head, but Ironhide beat him to it, "The remaining Decepticons have hidden from our sensors, and I fear more are coming."

"What are they after, now?"

Ratchet began this time, "There is still an AllSpark shard. Other than that, they may still be seeking dominance."

"Or something else," Kadence quietly added, heads turned to her, waiting for her to continue, The red head shrugged, "It could be anything."

"...It's only a rumored legend, but there was an exploratory mission multiple centuries ago that a Prime made," Optimus said, trying to recall information, "He quite possibly hid an object beneficial to the Decepticons."

"We can't be sure," a member of the U.N. said, "You say their leader is dead, so why haven't they left?"

The black Autobot's holoform spoke, "Starscream was Megatron's first lieutenant, there's no doubt that he took control into his own irresponsible serv- hands. Who knows what that Decepticon is doing."

"You refuse to share your advancement in weaponry, why is that?" The same member spoke again, he didn't seem too happy with the idea of the Autobots staying.

"I believe your species can figure out your own weapons. Ours could bring mass destruction if in the wrong hands, it's quite possible for your planet to end up a barren wasteland, like ours," He took a deep breath. The Prime decided to sum everything up and get straight to the point, "We mean no harm to this planet or its inhabitants, only to protect from the merciless Decepticons, who will stop at nothing until they have what they want, or when they're offlined," Optimus looked up, "In other words, killed."

Kadence had a flashback to Mission City, Megatron's motionless body, his chest melted and his optics dark, lifeless. Greed and the need for power clouded his thoughts, turning him into a savage animal in his last few moments as a desperate attempt to get the Allspark.

"Alright, it's only for safety concerns that we must set some rules for you Autobots," They nodded in agreement, "First off, we should know of every Autobot that arrives to Earth."

"Secondly, we should always know of your whereabouts." Nods again.

"Always know the missions you take."

One man looked behind the Autobots and to Will, "Captain Lennox," attention turned to him, "Since you and your team are quite familiar with the Autobots, it would be best if your team would stay with them." Will nodded, subtly showing that he liked the idea with a small smirk.

"I know you may not like this one, but you'll follow our orders upon command," one with a Scottish accent said. Ironhide definitely didn't like the idea, but they agreed anyway.

It was silent for a second, until a question popped up in Sam's head, "Where will the Autobots be staying?"

"For now, a temporary base as we prepare the one on an island called Diego Garcia. Should only take a couple weeks or so," the man paused, seeming to realize, "Unless the Autobots want to remain at the Lennox residence in the time span?"

The nodded, agreeing to everything. Optimus made sure to keep the Autobots' reputation up, following the humans and what they say.

"Until further rules have been made... I think we can make it official. The Non-biological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty is a go."

"That's quite a mouthful," the one with the English accent laughed.

Kadence looked up, and shrugged, "Just call it NEST."

"Catchy acronym, I'll agree," the Scottish one said.

And thus, the treaty between two species was agreed upon and NEST was born.

Kadence walked out into the evening sun, more like setting sun and hopped into Ironhide, Will calling shotgun, she had to sit in the back. More leg room for her then. She lied on her side and curled up, one of the seat belts strategically wrapped around her and clicked into place.

She closed her eyes and drifted into a steady sleep, the radio playing the station she picked out earlier.

* * *

 _June 15, 2007_

"How are we gonna do this..." Kadence said, tapping her chin with her index finger and looking at Jazz's repaired frame in thought.

Ratchet backed her up with another ponder, mimicking her trailing off, and it continued, "We would need an Allspark shard..."

"We have one..."

The CMO glanced at her, "Locked away..."

"We have two..."

He gave her a questioning look, "Two?"

"Yeah, you don't remember Optimus pulling out two?" He shook his head, and Kadence sighed, "Okay, well... He pulled out two. He might still have it. Did you really not see it?"

They looked at each other before racing out the barn, heading towards the Peterbilt in the driveway. Ratchet placed a hand on his hood, "Alright, Prime. What are you hiding?"

His holoform activated and he furrowed his eyebrows, "Whatever do you mean, old friend?"

"I mean the shard."

"It's locked away...?" He said with uncertainty, not knowing what the two were implying.

Kadence shook her head, "Not that one, Optimus. I know I was delirious, but you pulled out a second shard."

He stood silent for a second, contemplating. He shook his head, "You are quite observant, little one. What do you need it for?"

"Jazz," the two say simultaneously.

Optimus quirked an eyebrow but said nothing as he reached into himself... _That sounds weird_... and pulled out a tiny shard, much smaller than the first one. He carefully handed it to Ratchet, making sure the CMO closed his hands around the shard. The Prime's hands lingered on Ratchet's and he stared into the Autobot's eyes, "Bring him home."

Ratchet nodded, gesturing to Kadence for her to follow and they both walked back to the barn, Ratchet's alt. mode not too far behind them. Kadence stared up at Jazz, then glanced to the shard. She took a deep breath, "Are we really doing this?"

"Yeah..." Ratchet said, transforming and approaching the grey frame of his friend. He hesitated over his chest before shoving the shard in and taking a large step back, standing over Kadence to ensure her safety.

Jazz's optics flickered online.


	11. Kardiness

**Chapter 10**

" **Kardiness"**

 _June 15, 2007_

A battle cry was let out and Jazz lunged at the fluorescent yellow CMO in front of him, "You wanna piece!"

Ratchet grunted as he fell unceremoniously on his back, he grabbed the grey Autobot's hands before flipping him over and successfully pinned him down. Jazz continued to struggle, "Jazz! Jazz, it's me, Ratchet! Stand down."

The visored mech slightly calmed and looked around, his gaze must've fallen upon Kadence, who was standing near the entrance, because he had stiffened and ceased his small struggles. She gave him a strained smile and waved, clearly frightened at his sudden outburst. His faceplates shifted into a deep frown in return, "…You okay, lil' lady?"

"I should be asking _you_ that, Jazz," he waved off the unsaid question.

The CMO above him stood and held out a hand, which Jazz gladly took. He was visibly off balance from the way he swayed from foot to foot, Ratchet having to hold his shoulders to keep him steady. The fluorescent yellow mech led him back to where Jazz was previously lying, and muttered, "You shouldn't be moving around…"

"Well, 'cuse me for thinking you were Megs," he paused, another frown set upon his face, "What happened to the bastard, anyway?"

Kadence hesitantly walked forward, "Sam killed 'im."

"He fused the Cube with Megatron's spark," Ratchet continued, glancing at the small being below him.

"So…'e dead?" The two nodded and Jazz seemed to relax, "Prime's okay?" Another pair of nods, and Ratchet's confirming hum. Jazz lifted his left arm to see a large scar running up his torso, from the left side of his hip all the way up to his right shoulder. He frowned once more, placing a hand on the metal scar.

Ratchet began to walk to his own set of tools lying in a corner, placing one in it in the process of speaking, "You should thank Kadence for that one. She managed to keep you out of the Laurentian Abyss and persuaded me in repairing you."

"Nah," she waved him off, "Point your gratitude towards Ratchet. He did most of the work."

Jazz crossed his arms, and smiled, "'Nah,'" he mimicked, "I'ma thank both o' ya."

"It's good to have you back, Jazz," Ratchet set a hand on Jazz's left shoulder and began to make his way out the barn, only to be stopped by a curious Ironhide.

The Autobot looked in the barn, his cannons drawn and spinning, "I heard somethi-…" He stopped at the sight of Jazz, sitting alive and healthy on the giant platform, he slowly continued his sentence with hesitance, becoming confused, "…ng…so I thought…I'd check in…"

"'Ey, 'Hide," Jazz waved. Ironhide deactivated his cannons, "These two repaired meh… So… Tha' explains it, huh?"

"…Yeah…" The black Autobot watched Kadence wipe her greasy hands with a rag before placing it back down on her work table. Ratchet walked past Ironhide and nodded to him. He was confused as to why they are so casual when Jazz is alive and talking. He turned from the barn, "I'm not even going to bother."

Kadence chuckled, watching him leave. She looked back to Jazz, who was apparently watching her every move from behind his blue visor. The red head stuck her thumbs into her jean pockets and smiled up at the grey Autobot, he returned the smile. She glanced at Ratchet's retreating form, talking louder as he got further, "Be sure Jazz recharges…Minimal movement! More energon!"

"Ya heard 'im," Kadence said, mimicking Jazz's accent and his laidback attitude, "Hop to it!"

Jazz chuckled and did as told, lying back down on the platform and shutting down his systems. Kadence heard his "cooling fans," as Ratchet told her, coming to a slow stop before staying silent. She sighed and stared at his visor, where his optics were, no doubt, offline. She shook the dark thought of his dead frame before walking out the barn doors and shutting them behind her. Walking past, she patted both Ratchet and Ironhide's alt. modes, doing the same for Optimus. Then she stretched while heading into the house and ignoring the sound of a holoform following her inside. Kadence smiled and dropped herself onto the couch, looking at the holoform, it was Ratchet, "So…What now?"

"We wait for Jazz's frame to accommodate the repairs and find him a new alt. mode," he quirked an eyebrow, "I'm sure you had something in mind?"

"Yeah, a Porsche," she watched as Ratchet moved across the living room to sit in the beige chair, he sighed and looked at Kadence. Their gazes were locked on each other, yet not seeing one another; both were in deep thought. Kadence sighed and looked to the floor.

Ratchet broke the silence, "Do your eyes always glow and spin when you're in thought?"

"Huh?" She looked up at him and furrowed her eyebrows, "My eyes... what?"

"They glow and spin," he leaned in and stared at her eyes, "Multiple times, I've seen your irises dim, brighten and spin. Your pupils dilate depending on how bright the irises are. Just like ours," Ratchet paused his speculations before he actually looked at Kadence, not just her eyes, "Mind if I run a scan?"

She shrugged in response, "Go ahead."

The red head stayed absolutely still as she felt him scan her, sending a shiver up her spine and her limbs to tingle as though they were asleep for a second. Kadence watched as the CMO's holoform looked down in thought, his eyes dimming and slightly spinning. She stood and walked into the kitchen as he processed the scan. Wonder if he's thinking what I'm thinking...

"I found something to be...quite interesting."

The red head poured a glass of ice cold water, "Yeah?"

He looked up at her, his eyes full of emotion, "Kardiness."

Kadence froze, stopped pouring and set the glass down onto the counter. She braced herself on the counter with both hands gripping the edge, the read head closed her eyes and sighed through her nose. He is thinking the same thing... She opened them and looked behind her through the doorway to see Ratchet, staring right back at her, "Yeah, that's me..."

"Do you remember...?"

She shook her head, picking up the glass and walked through the doorway back to the couch. Then she nodded, "Faintly."

Ratchet thickly swallowed, and whispered, "You look just like her."

Them the memories began to resurface.

 _"Hey, there's my little girl!"_

 _A man with red hair spread his arms wide open as a young toddler ran into them, giggling when he trapped her in a bear hug. He kissed her temple and released her, letting her run to her mother, who was standing not too far away. She too, swept the young girl off her feet._

 _The father came over and slung his arm over the woman's shoulder, placing her in an embrace with their daughter in the middle, "You know...She looks just like you."_

 _"Yeah. But she has your hair and eyes," they gazed into their daughter's eyes, which began closing as the child became tired. They watched as her irises deepened to a darker shade of blue. They smiled and made their way to the room designated their daughter's. The black haired woman sighed and looked up, "Ratchet, you can't leave."_

 _"My apologies, Jasmine...But I have duties to attend to," he placed a hand on her cheek, she closed her eyes and leaned into the touch, "You know I'll always come back."_

 _Time quickly flew by, before they knew it, it was time for Ratchet to leave._

 _"Daddy!" The little girl beamed as she saw her father, he returned the smile, except it was a little strained._

 _The man, once again, crouched down and hugged the young girl, the wiggling giggling girl, he'd call her. She squirmed in his arms before being released. The man looked her seriously in the eyes, "Now, I'm going to be gone for a little while. I'll be back."_

 _"Promise?"_

 _She looked up at him with her large blue eyes, he couldn't help but place a kiss on her forehead, "I promise."_

 _The little girl was left to play after she hugged her father._

 _He turned to Jasmine, who covered her mouth and stifled sobs, he embraced her with a quick peck and let the holoform deactivate. He transformed from the old Range Rover into his bipedal mode, glanced to Jasmine, before taking off into the sky back to his Autobot ship._

 _The red head toddler didn't notice the tears streaming down her mother's cheeks and continued to play._

* * *

 _June 16, 2007_

Kadence and the holoform of Ratchet walked side by side to the barn, with the CMO's alt. mode tailing, they began bringing up little talk before pushing the relatively large barn doors open, letting the daylight shine through and onto Jazz's awaiting frame. He looked up and greeted the two with the nod of his helm.

The red head helped Ratchet examine Jazz, doing a triple check. First check, scanners. Second check, Ratchet. Third was Kadence. She ran a hand over the scars on the grey Autobot's back in thought and ignored the shiver Jazz gave in response.

She hopped off the platform and smiled at the sounds of morning doves and other early birds. It was around six in the morning, a little earlier than usual. She took a deep breath of the fresh air, and stretched, grimacing against the stretching pain of her wound, "Guess I gotta get a Porsche for you, Jazz?" He nodded, and smiled when she gave him a model idea, "911 Turbo?"

Nodding, she began to walk over to her work table, aiming for her water bottle.

"'Ey, Sire, you got any energon?"

Kadence's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the word "Sire," but continued her walk to her work table nonetheless. She grabbed her water bottle and unscrewed the cap, turning back to Jazz and Ratchet, "What does 'Sire' mean?"

She took a swig from her water, listening to Ratchet's hesitant reply, "It... In Cybertronian terms... Sire means father."

The red head sputtered and coughed, the water going down the wrong pipe. She set the water bottle onto the work table and bent over, a hand on her chest as she choked, letting out a chuckle in the middle of her coughing. After her fit ceased she looked back up at Ratchet, her eyes wide with surprise and confusion.

"Jazz is your _son?_ "


	12. Enter the World

**POV change, from a different time! Whoo! I did a lot of research for this, and decided most of it will be slightly (More like mostly) AU while the rest following the facts. This is all my own interpretation.**

 **So, if you don't like how I arranged this or you just don't like the plot…You can wait ten weeks until the POV changes back to our lovely Kadence.**

 **Just remember, most of this is AU, my own interpretation and matches up with Bay's setup in ROTF.**

 **Sorry for this considerably short chapter, I just couldn't really find anything else to add.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

 **"Enter the World"**

Four figures approached a large gaping hole implemented in the metal ground, the pit glowed a soft blue, serving as a welcome as the figures walked up to the edge. But only one had walked up to the point where he was standing on the ledge, and he gazed down at a distant glowing orb at the bottom with determination.

"Prima, are you certain Primus will allow you to speak to him?" The largest of the four questioned, his armor was of silver, a rusty red and gold with a glowing orb inside a cavity placed on his chest. He looked to be the eldest of all.

"Yes, I am sure, Vector. Being Primus' first child, you would think I would be able communicate," Prima, being the Warrior of Light in his gleaming white armor, gave a reassuring glance to his brother.

A lush blue small mech stepped forward, "We are all his children."

"Yes, but Primus has chosen I to be leader," Prima looked down into the glowing pit, "Primus."

The hole glowed even brighter in response, awaiting his command, "Where is the sister in which I was sparked with long ago?"

It glowed, and glowed, …and glowed. And didn't stop glowing. The core was thinking.

A blinding light flashed across the four bots' visions, they shielded their optics with their arms before bringing them back down when the light faded. Prima had stepped back in shock from the blinding light, and in the space between the edge and the Prime, was a small figure lying offline.

Prima stood, appalled Primus had actually considered the four, before sprinting up to the tiny frame.

"Primus, she's no bigger than Micronus!" The fourth Prime, with jet black armor, exclaimed, he got both glares and chuckles, "I-I mean, is she a Mini-Con?"

Prima stared back at the Prime, "Onyx, she is no Mini-Con, but yes, she is small, she was sparked with me, but was left offline and hasn't grown due to the lack of knowledge for a new Cybertronian sex. Primus kept her in recharge so her frame won't fail on her spark, or vice versa, her spark failing on her frame," Onyx made a silent "oh" with his mouth, Prima turned around to the identical femme and gently shook her shoulders, "Sister, please, wake up. It's me, Prima. Sister?"

A soft moan escaped the petite femme, her wings slowly unfolded. Onyx stared at her, excitedly, not only was he no longer going to be the youngest, but he would also have another Prime with wings like his. The femme's optics flickered on.

A moment of peace before she hacked. Prima placed a servo on her back, avoiding her wings in case he makes her uncomfortable. Her quiet hacks continued on for kliks before they ceased and she relaxed.

Her young optics trailed up to the four in curiosity, her optics calibrated and she blinked a few times. She locked optics with Prima, "Welcome to the world, sister."

"What is the name Primus assigned to you, young one?" Vector Prime crouched in front of her vision.

The femme opened her mouth to speak, holding her strained throat before testing her vocal processor, her voice soon became fluent, mostly, "K-Kardiness Prime," she coughed, "Protector of the Skies."

"We welcome you, Kardiness," Micronus said from behind, "I am Micronus Prime, the first Mini-Con."

"My designation's Onyx Prime, I am a beast Cybertronian," he tightened his servo into a fist and smirked.

"Vector Prime, guardian of space and time."

"And I am your brother, and the first Cybertronian to be sparked by Primus, leader of this tiny group, my designation is Prima," The Prime helps Kardiness get onto her pedes, "We all are your brothers, and you, our sister." All four Primes held authoritative tones, obviously making their best first impression on the femme.

"Am I the fifth?" She inquired to the four Primes.

Prima shook his helm, "You were the second."

Kardiness didn't have any armor, she was just a protoform. The four couldn't help but stare at her frame every so often, it was unique. She had triangular antenna plates attached to audio fins, the antennas moved forwards or backwards depending on her mood. A retractable tinted visor covered the top half of her face while an also retractable battle mask covered the rest. Both were retracted. Her torso was hourglass shaped. Connected to that, were her slim arms, legs and quite large wings. The wings' thumbs went way over her head, and the tips just barely skimming the floor. How she balanced herself would remain a mystery.

The femme had her body twisted to where one half was facing the four Primes, the other looking at the deep pit in which she was sparked, her antennas were sent halfway down and occasionally twitched in interest and curiosity.

Prima walked up to her, placed a servo on her shoulder and led her to the edge, "This is the Well of All Sparks. If you look into the bottom, you'll see Cybertron's core, Primus' spark."

The Well glowed in acknowledgement to their presence.

"Prima, the solar cycle is ending. We must return," Vector looked to the dimming sky, everyone else followed suit and agreed. The now five Primes began walking off, Kardiness stayed close to Micronus, who was around the same height as her, and less intimidating.

The three large Cybertronians started to talk among themselves, Onyx had begun the conversation, "Do you think she'll grow like we did?"

"Most likely not, scans show her frame will age slowly and might as well stop for a long period of time a little after her sparkling stellar cycles," Vector replied.

"But we grew fast," Prima stated, looking for an explanation.

Vector sighed, "We don't know how femmes work. Or if it's how her Prime aspects function. For all I know, she could be not only Protector of the Skies, but Keeper of Youth."

The three looked over to the small femme, she had her head down as she fought to catch up with every bot. She was the first femme, and successful femme. The three didn't know how many times Primus has failed and might fail to create another, but Kardiness was functioning perfectly. Prima smiled to himself.

"We'll know soon."


	13. A Third to Last

**So… Before anything happens… I just want to say my extended days at school are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. (Sadly not Tuesday) If Aftershock becomes sloppy or anything of the sort, please please please please PLEASE tell me!**

 **I heard extended day is pretty stressful at times, and considering the fact I'll have it both Wednesday and Thursday, Aftershock could be a bit in jeopardy… 'Cause I leave for school at around six and get home… around six. That's not a lot of time for me to chill and type.** **(I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter... But it'll suffice this week. School's getting in the way already and it hasn't even started yet)**

 **Any grammar mistakes I blame on not having enough time to reread again.**

 **If any of you need a time unit key, don't be afraid to ask.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

 **"A Third to Last"**

"You're gonna have to be quicker than that, sister," Prima taunted, dodging a swipe from the smaller Prime. He smirked, grabbed her outstretched arm and threw her to the ground.

The other Primes watched from the sidelines. Vector looked to Prima, "Maybe you shouldn't go so hard on her?" Kardiness groaned and rolled onto her side, rubbing her back strut in between her wings.

The young femme pulled herself up in a crouching position, and defiantly looked to her twin, "I can take it."

She lifts herself and lowers into a battle ready position and stares into the optics of Prima, who was at least twice her size. She's grown, but apparently not enough; the Prime was still comparatively small. And only a couple solar cycles ago, her growing had come to a stop.

Kardiness charged at her twin.

* * *

"Do you ever wonder what's out there?" Kardiness said, trying not to wince at Onyx tended to her wounds from the spar earlier, "Like…Are we alone in this world? Is it just us…?"

He glanced up at her, only to see her lovely blue optics staring down at his golden ones. Onyx kept his head down and continued to tend to her wounds, "I'm not entirely sure. Maybe there are, and the planet is just as young as ours."

"How young _is_ our planet?"

"Not sure, could be several stellar cycles," Onyx leans back, done with his work. Kardiness moves her formerly injured knee and feels no pain, "All I know, is that Primus became so injured from one of his fights with Unicron, that he was forced into some sort of transformation, left to heal."

"Who is Unicron?"

"Primus' twin and arch nemesis. You and Prima were built to resemble them, I guess," Onyx chuckled to himself, "I think I know how the other Primes felt when they let me ask questions."

Kardiness rubbed the back of her neck and stiffly folded her wings in embarrassment, smiling sheepishly, "Heh…Curiosity's getting the best of me."

The black Prime smiled, "No worries."

"So…Primus can 'transform'…Will we be able to?"

"Maybe? The others say that we'd have to acquire a transformational-cog… Oh! Oh! But I have one!"

The femme looked up at him, astonished, "You can transform?"

"I haven't told anyone else yet…But…I call it a Predacon, or a Beast mode," He stood and shifted, a series of clicks, whirrs and gears turning broke the silence as his frame changed into a completely different shape. Kardiness' mouth hung open as she stared at a foreign frame. It smiled. Large wings folded over his slim yet muscled frame, four legs balanced the weight with the help of a tail that continued his spine to the very tip. He still held his golden optics and trademark jet black armor. This frame showed resemblance to a dragon. He was majestic.

Kardiness stood without pain from her knee and ran a hand over his large wing, then up his neck and onto his muzzle. The Prime shuttered his optics and leaned into her touch. The Predacon was so huge! It amazed Kardiness. Onyx transformed back into his original frame and smiled, "Cool, right?"

"Yeah!" She smiled, dropping her hand from its former position where Onyx's muzzle used to be, "Why don't you tell the other Primes?"

"I dunno…But hey, we should build you one! You could also be a Predacon or something that flies!" They smiled, agreeing on the idea, "Okay, let's go do it!" Onyx grabbed her small servo and led her into the all too familiar room that was the black Prime's. Countless machines and other scraps of metal lied around the large room. He grabbed a datapad and a stylus, "Okay…Let's sketch this out…"

And thus, they began to build the T-cog.

* * *

"Was there a Prime before us?"

"Yes," Vector answered dryly. He clearly did not like answering questions to a new Prime. He was "busy with work," whatever that meant.

Kardiness gazed up at the bigger Prime, "Who was he?"

He placed the datapad that was in his hands down onto the desk and folded his servos, turning to look at Kardiness, "Primon. He carried the Matrix of Leadership before us. Our frames are based off of his."

"Where did he come from?"

Vector sighed, "Presumably, the Quintessons. He predates us, even Primus himself."

"Wow! A Prime older than Primus?" Kardiness exclaimed with amazement, not afraid to show her astonishment.

The larger Prime glared at her, and shooed her off, "Yes, yes. Now go away."

Kardiness scrambled away, fighting the urge to bother Vector more. She was sitting in his quarters for countless cycles, asking questions that he seemed to have the answer for. Usually, Micronus would be the one to become irked easily from so many inquiries.

Primon, Primus, Prima, Prime. They all had such similar names, it was becoming redundant.

The Prime kept walking down the corridor, aiming for Onyx's quarters. Over the past orn, she and the black Prime have locked themselves in each others rooms and worked on the T-cog designated Kardiness'. She was excited to get this finished, but then there'd be even _more_ work concerning her alternative mode, as Onyx calls them.

The door slid open and Onyx's messy room greeted her, she smiled. The black Prime she's come to known and love was slumped over the desk, hands still sprawled over a datapad where another sketch lied. Kardiness chuckled and shook her head, plopping herself down on Onyx's berth.

...come to known and love...

 _Wait... Love?_ Kardiness looked up at the recharging Prime, _do I have an interest in him?_

Her optics scanned over the burly frame of Onyx Prime, she watched his cycles of air raise his shoulders, then lower them as they leave his tanks. The contraption known as the transformational-cog was sitting on the desk next to his right servo. How long had he been up trying to finish the T-cog?

Kardiness stands and strides over to Onyx, she places a servo on his back strut, in between his wings, and rubbed, trying to wake him up. Golden optics flicker on and groggily scan the room. When they landed on Kardiness, Onyx snapped awake and jerked away in surprise. He placed a servo over his chest, where his spark chamber lies, "Primus! You scared me."

"Sorry," the young Prime smiled and shrugged, "How long have you been up?"

He glanced around, and sheepishly smiled, "What time is it?"

"Several groons past the solar cycle," it was around the middle of the solar cycle, and Onyx slept in and right over the beginning of it, missing a good portion of work time.

"Oh... I was up until a couple groons after the solar cycle began," he cursed under his breath, "There goes my recharging cycles."

Kardiness knew all too well that Onyx's cycles for recharge become fragged up if he stays up too late, even if it's one time. Last time this happened, half an orn ago, the young Prime forced him into recharge. And it worked, but the method proved to be a tad bit painful on Onyx's end. Kardiness gave a pained smile, "Guess we gotta do it again?"

"Great," Onyx muttered before turning around in his chair and turning off the datapad, which lost most of its battery sitting there online for countless groons the black Prime was in recharge. He looked over to the T-cog, "Ready for this to be implanted?"

The femme swallowed nervously, "Yeah... Why is it so small?" She pointed out the size; it was barely even bigger than Onyx's servo that it sat in.

"Oh, well... You _are_ a femme, and femmes are quite petite. It's hard to fit a normal-sized T-cog in there with such little space, y'know?"

She nods, "When are we gonna do this?"

"By the end of the solar cycle, if you're ready."

Kardiness nodded, bid a quick farewell and left, her fuel tanks begging for some much needed energon. Her route changed to a different way as she made her way down to the refuel station. A couple cycles passed until she reached a large door, well to her it was large. It slid open automatically as she stepped forward, she was greeted with a brighter light than the ones sitting in the slate grey hallways.

The young Prime looked over to the lush blue mech that sat at the table. She waved at the small Prime, which he gruffly returned, appearing to be not in the mood. Knowing this, Kardiness went on with her business and grabbed a cube of energon before sitting down a couple seats away from Micronus, who kept opticing her. Finally, he set down his cube of energon and stared intently at the red and black Prime, "What have you and Onyx been up to?"

"Nothing," she watched the energon swirl around as she moved the cube in circular motions, then she flicked her optics up to Micronus to see him still staring at her, she looked back down, "Really, nothing. Just hanging out."

Micronus stood and picked up his empty cube, pointing an accusing digit at the femme, "Don't do anything stupid."

* * *

Kardiness shifted nervously on the berth as Onyx made sure the windows and doors were locked. This was a delicate procedure that can't be interrupted.

"Alright, well... I'm gonna put you into stasis. This might hurt a bit," he used the exact line that Kardiness used when she put him offline. She silently nodded, ignoring the nervousness lacing Onyx's voice. He placed a servo on her head and turned it, exposing her neck cables. The black Prime reached down and pulled a wire on the back of her neck. Kardiness stiffened as a burning pain shot up her spine and resided in a minor tingle before she was placed into forced stasis.

It was dark and quiet for a long while.

The young Prime couldn't hear or see anything, but she trusted that Onyx knew what he was doing and completed the procedure successfully. She continued to vent air, keeping her cool and patiently waiting until she regained consciousness.

Cycles, possibly groons seemed to have passed until light greeted her as she onlined her optics.

Her side was numb and her processor fuzzy, she deliriously looked up at Onyx, he smiled, "Success... Well, until we test it, that is."

Kardiness picked up her helm to look at the welds that covered her protoform, she had to stop a blush from coming at the lack of the thin armor on her. Looking back at the black Prime above her, she returned the smile.

"All you need to do is rest."


	14. Recovering and Reforming

**I need reviews in order to know how I'm doing! I don't know if you guys like the new POV or not. But sooner or later, it'll all make sense. Well, it'd be later... for sure.**

 **Any mistakes I blame for running out of time and not being able to proof read. And sorry this is such a short chapter. Time isn't really on my side anymore.**

 **Onwards with the beginning Cybertron!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

 **"Recovering and Reforming"**

Kardiness quickly slipped off the berth, completing forgetting she had no feeling in her frame, and crashed into a very startled Onyx. His arm secured her clumsy form from falling again and stared down at her, "It'll take a while before you can stand, you do realize that, right?"

Mirth filled his optics as the younger Prime grunted and slumped back onto the berth, not having the strength or feeling to ease herself down; she ungracefully collapsed with a heavy thud against the berth. The femme let out a sigh, "Think it'll work?"

"Possibly. I mean... I dunno if I've connected the right wires. So... Maybe?" He said with uncertainty. Kardiness frowned, praying to Primus nothing went wrong or will go wrong. Seeing her expression, Onyx smiled, "Don't worry. If it won't work, _if_ , then I can easily fix it," he pointed to his side, "Remember, I have one too!"

Kardiness watched as the black Prime gathered up all his tools and dumped them onto the table across the room with multiple clashes and clanks. He turned and gave a smile, a little sheepish with all the noise. The young femme returned the smile, then slumped back down and groaned.

This might take a while to recover.

* * *

An orn passed and Kardiness was able to stand. Excitement flowed through her energon lines as she bolted for the door, not caring for grace. It was more of stumbling and staying upright with Onyx's help. But in a couple kilks, the two ended up with the other Primes, who were all relaxing in the refueling room with an energon cube in servo.

"Kardiness! Primus, I thought you were offline!" Prima said, mouth agape and staring at his twin.

Micronus crossed his arms, "Nothing stupid, right?"

The femme placed her servo on the back of her neck and rubbed, "Yeah... About that."

"So you know about T-cogs, yes?" Onyx said, the three Primes nodded, unsure of where he was going. He sucked in a breath, "Well... I guess it's time to come clean. I have a transformational-cog."

He ignored the sputters and allowed Kardiness to continue off of his words, "And we built one, and installed it into my frame."

"I had to rewire a portion of her system and download the coding into her processor. With that being said, Kardiness can transform."

Nobot moved, as if they were expecting something. Vector held his servo out, palm up, "Well?"

"Okay, I can hopefully transform... But I don't have an 'alt. mode,'" she shrugged, "I'd have to build my own."

"And... You want our help?" The two nodded. Vector Prime sighed, and pinched his nose bridge and muttered, "Primus help us."

Prima set down his energon cube after taking a sip, then folded his servos, the digits interlacing, "If Kardiness' T-cog does work, Onyx," he grabbed the young mech's attention, "It would be great if you could also build and install one." Onyx nodded eargly, bouncing up and down on his pedes. Kardiness rolled her optics, _overly excited, much?_

"What would your alt. mode be, Kardiness?"

The femme looked to Micronus and she cracked a smile, "Something that flies."

"Think we'll get this done by the end of the stellar cycle?" Micronus asked and turned to Vector and Prima, looking for his answer.

"Possibly," Prima looked down in thought, "But I think the question is, why were we not built with T-cogs, but Onyx was?"

* * *

Yet another orn passed and the five Primes proudly stood in front of a new machine they invented. The machine had two wings, with both ailerons and flaperons. Both vertical and horiztonal stabilizers sat near the back of the machine. Two thrusters were connected in between the horizontal stabilizers. A flying machine, it was. No...

A sleek, small yet powerful jet.

Kardiness' smile broadened as she felt the codes installed activate and a blue light flashed from her optics, running over the jet. At first, nothing. Then, she violently jerked as her body began twisting, metal scraped against metal, gears clicked and wires moved. She could feel her armor become significantly lighter, being upgraded to the heavy duty, yet considerably lightweight, metal that was made from the jet. A nanosecond later, there were two jets sitting in the room. Except Kardiness still had her red and black armor.

The bay doors to the room opened, the doors they used to fly the plane and test it. Failure at first, then slowly progressing into success.

"It worked!" Onyx jumped for joy and gave a "whoop" as Kardiness slowly drove out the the hangar, keeping a slow pace so the Primes can keep up. Once she was outside, she activated her thrusters, after making sure nobot was behind her, and shot off the airway. The Prime lifted off the ground and the excitement only grew as she flew in the air, a couple histers (feet) off the ground.

Deciding to venture out more, Kardiness jerked back and flew vertically into the sky. She spun as she went up, leaving a spiraling trail of smoke, her engine screaming.

She could fly!

Another shape joined her down below, and she realized it too had wings and a large body, yet this wasn't a jet. It was Onyx's beast mode.

"This is amazing!" Kardiness called out to the Predacon, he happily roared in response, clearly enjoying himself. It wasn't every solar cycle you could fly, especially like this with such speed. The G-force was taking a toll on the young Prime, so she flipped herself over and nosedived towards the ground, speeding right past Onyx's startled form with a loud _whoosh_.

Her engine quieted as she straightened herself for a smooth landing, her three tires met the ground gracefully and came to a slow stop, then transformed and jumped up and down excitedly around the three Primes. She squealed, "I can fly now!"

"Well, if you tried... You could have with just your wings," Vector pointed out, deflating her mood.

The Prime's shoulders sagged, "Yeah, but..." Her mood brightened again, blue optics brightening, "It wouldn't have been as fast, though!"

There was a heavy thud and Kardiness turned, smiling as she saw the transforming frame of Onyx before she was greeted with his handsome faceplates she's come to love. He smiled and heavily cycled, then let out an airy chuckle, "You... Are _way_ too fast... for me to keep up with."

"So, I take it that was your "beast mode," Onyx?" Micronus said from below, being much shorter than the rest, they all had to look down. The black Prime nodded his confirmation and then stretched, letting out a satisfied sigh as his joints popped, he rolled his shoulder joints. _Must have been a while since he's transformed,_ Kardiness thought.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that, Onyx?" Prima began, "Will you build us all transformational-cogs?"

He nodded and turned to the small femme next to him, "I'll need some help, though."


	15. Trademark

**I'm sorry for this part of the story being boring. School is really keeping me busy this year, so I don't have much time to think and daydream. Part of this chapter was typed on my phone while riding the bus... so you know where that leads to! And sorry it's so short! Gah! I couldn't find a way to continue it!**

 **If anyone is wondering, Kardiness' alt. mode is similar to that of an F-22 Raptor, like Starscream's alt. And yes. She is the first Seeker, if you are also wondering that.**

 **The poll is still up on my page, waiting for your vote!**

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

 **"Trademark"**

Kardiness impatiently, yet patiently, tapped the stylus to her datapad on the table. Onyx's optics glanced up at her from his datapad before returning to the blue screen full of sketches. The femme set down her stylus and vented, "We're creating them for each Prime, yes?"

"Yeah," The black Prime ran a servo over his faceplates and groaned, "This is going to take orns..."

It had been a couple solar cycles since Kardiness tested out her T-cog, and it was fully functional. Ever since, the two Primes had been doing nothing but planning for the transformational-cogs designated the other three Primes and an additional two for the soon-to-come Primes. Least to say, it was hard work.

The femme pushed her datapad aay, set her elbows on the table and buried her helm in her servos, releasing a groan. Through her servos, she moaned, "This is going to take _forever_."

"Don't worry, we'll get it done."

The past couple solar cycles, Kardiness hadn't had much time to think to herself, she was always submerged in work along with Onyx. The two were no longer seen without each other, it was making the other Prime's wary on their friendship and if they've developed any feelings.

It was questionable, her and Onyx's relationship. Due to one berth, the young Primes had to share. They were always in one another's quarters, not exactly caring for privacy. Were they like siblings? Not in particular, no. They were more.

 _"Take a break, sister. Why not include us other Prime's into the project?"_ Her twin, Prima, said in the almost nonexistent bond they faintly shared. The femme sent her agreement and stood from her chair, gaining the attention of Onyx.

"Let's get the other Primes included, yes?" She turned and walked out of the recently organized room and into the hallway, Onyx following closely behind. Kardiness shifted her wings on her back, sight splaying them out in a form of a satisfying stretch, before folding them back onto her slim frame.

Onyx grunted, "My aft's sore."

The femme Prime laughed, it was genuine. She continued with her graceful steps into the main room, where only Prima stood. Vector was most likely keeping track of space and time. However, Micronus' whereabouts are unknown. It was common for Vector to be gone for long periods of time, only returning to reality for energon, a new Prime, another event or emergencies.

"So, where's Mr. Tall Grouch and Mr. Shorty Grouch?" He let out a chuckle before focusing his optics on Prima's, waiting for an answer.

Said Prime rubbed the back of his helm, "Well... Out and about doing their business."

Kardiness shrugged and handed her twin the datapad with all the data on it, "You can get started on your own T-cog if you want. I'm gonna heed your advice and take a break," she brushed her servo on his shoulder as she walked past and out the hangar. The femme looked over the airway and transformed, starting up her thrusters and rolling forward before lifting off the ground, taking flight. She spiraled into the sky and welcomed the wind that wrapped around her frame. Figuring out the aerodynamics for the jet had to of been the hardest part, considering the fact this was new technology.

The Cybertronians were going to be known as Transformers once they've all received and installed their T-cogs. It was soon-to-be their trademark. Kardiness was excited for it, they were going to create a whole race based upon being able to transform like no other! It felt odd, but exhilarating at the same time every time she transformed.

Continuing a smooth flight, she observed Cybertron down below, it's metal was both dull and glossy in certain places. She could see her home from here, and Onyx's black frame but a dot that stood a few histers from the bay door, watching her. The femme did a barrel role, having smoke spiral from her thrusters. Kardiness looked over the Well of Allsparks, watching the pulsing blue light deep inside the core of Cybertron. But the spark inside was oddly brighter than usual...

Deciding to investigate, she quickly descended. This was the first time she's visited the Well since her sparking. It was considered disrespectful to look down into the Well without Primus' consent, it was similar to giving no eye contact that of one higher ranked than you out of respect.

She transformed and landed on her pedes, standing on the edge of the Well. The light grew brighter. Why? She had no clue, which was why the femme was down here in the first place. The curious Prime stepped forward, hesitant to look down in the hole. Her spark rattled in her chamber out of being nervous. Was she supposed to be doing this?

Not caring for getting in trouble, her attention was caught by something deep in the Well. It had six sides, four corners, twelve edges. It was a cube. And by the looks of it, metal. Kardiness lowered herself to the ground as an attempt to see it better, which barely did anything. The cube was extremely distant thus being small in her optics.

Was it her, or was the cube growing?

Realizing this, Kardiness flinched back. Her spark continued to vigorously thrum in her chamber, not liking this. Taking a small peek over the edge, the Prime's optics widened to see the cube even _larger_. No, _closer_. She retreated back over the edge, a servo landed on her chamber as an attempt to sooth its erratic behavior.

Kliks passed and nothing happened, the femme vented and dared to take a peek over the edge. Big mistake, it only resulted in scaring the armor right off her protoform! The cube was floating only several histers from the surface. _What in the pit is that?_

She found herself moving closer to the odd object as thought she were attracted to it. Her servo reached out and tentatively touched it, only to retract as it gave her a light shock. Hesitating her servo near the cube again, she let her digits graze the surface and another small series of shocks went through her frame, nothing as intense as the previous one. Finally finding the bravery to grab it, she wrapped her servos around the sides and tugged it closer to her, using her wings to balance the frame that was hovering over the Well.

Vector is going to offline her for this.

Kardiness collapsed when she deemed herself safe from falling into the Well, the giant cube lying next to her. She continued to observe it, and found it to have a smooth surface. It was almost taller than her small frame. Sitting up, she touched the cube again and welcomed the shocks, "What are you?"

Her processor was filled with another's presence, not Prima's. A brief series of images flashed through her processor, she recognized it as each and every Prime's sparking. Prima was alone for a whole stellar cycle... She was supposed to be with him. The others were filled with greetings of each Prime, a tense few solar cycles before they became accustomed to each other. A foreign Cybertronian flashed across her mental vision, it was a white mech with a red rune on his forehead and a long chin resembling a beard.

Primon.

He indeed looked old and wise. His blue glasses covered his optics, the color unknown to the femme. He was speaking with these odd alien creatures... They differentiated in coloration, ranging from green, salmon, blue, yellow, and continuous varieties of colors. Each had red eyes with tentacles and they sat in hovering metal machines. _Quintessons_ was smacked onto them. That's what they were. _So we aren't alone?_

Another word flowed through her processor, and it seemed right. More images flashed through her processor, and she didn't even register her servo being ripped away from the cube and her frame dragged away. Her processor became less fuzzy and she was back into reality, blinking her optics a few times before looking up at the red, yellow and silver mech that had pulled her away.

It was Vector Prime. _Well I'm fragged_.

Kardiness watched as Primus and Onyx shoved the cube away from her. She felt Micronus scan her, she saw Onyx's worried expression and felt Prima's concerned emotions fill the bond. The servos left her frame and moved away, the Prime stood in front of her. She vented, ready for a lecturing. But it didn't come.

"Why?"

The youngest Prime looked up into his optics, not expecting a simple question that needed an elaborate explanation. He was pulling this trick. Have Kardiness answer the question and lecture herself by stating her mistakes. It could be cruel and embarrassing, depending on the situation. And right now, it was embarrassing with the mechs pressuring her with an answer. She began, "I was curious."

"Curiosity can be a dangerous trait, learn to control it," Micronus grunted, crossing his short arms and glancing warily at the cube.

Onyx stepped up to it and lightly tapped the metal surface, "What even _is_ this thing?"

Kardiness' twin smacked his servo away from the foreign object, "Well, don't touch it! Didn't you see what it did you Kardiness?"

 _What_ did _it do?_ The femme wondered. The black Prime's optics scanned over the surface of the metal cube, "Yeah, but that doesn't answer my question," The femme below decided to answer, her voice small and light compared to the mech's rough and deep voices.

"It calls itself the Allspark."


	16. Hesitantly Trusting

**PVA officially started. I'm not getting home until around six in the afternoon, which sucks. Which is why this is out so late, adlnd why it's so cruddy.**

 **Guys, remind me sometime during the week to type up a chapter for Aftershock so I have it prepared.**

 **Can anyone figure out what the chapters are spelling out with their first letters?**

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

 **"Hesitantly Trusting"**

The other four Primes stared at Kardiness as if she grew a second head. Micronus repeated her words, "'It calls itself the Allspark.'"

"It spoke?" Onyx glanced warily at the metal cube and slowly inched away from it. He looked at it again, scanning over the smooth surface, "That _thing_ spoke?"

They all looked to the femme Prime for their answer. She shrugged nonchalantly, "It's called the Allspark and it knows things. Like... the beginning," she gestured to Prima, "When Prima was sparked, when you were sparked. And you."

She pointed her servo at each Prime, they gave her an incredulous look. Prima stepped forward, "Let me get this straight. It _spoke_ to you-"

"More like giving me visions of the past."

Vector narrowed his optics, "Putting all this aside," he crossed his arms, "What were you doing looking down into the Well?"

Kardiness winced, she subtly shrank back from the towering mech and his scrutinizing gaze. Clearly, he was disappointed in her for disrespecting their deity. She gulped, "Well, I, uh... I saw a light from inside the Well," she pointed to it, "and decided to investigate... I was curious."

Their attention was turned back to the cube sitting before them, Onyx poked it, "Where did it come from?"

"The Well... Otherwise, I don't know," Kardiness shrugged and watched as Prima set his palm against the Allspark. His optics dimmed as he was brought into a series of visions, similar to the femme. A klik passed before he slowly brought his servo away and looked to his twin.

"Just what exactly did you see?"

The young Prime stepped forward, "Your sparkings and Primon speaking with the Quintessons. Why?"

He blandly replied. Deadpanning the sentence, "The blueprints for both the jet and the T-cog were found in here."

 _What?_ Kardiness looked over to Micronus as he spoke up, "Does it somehow gain information from when we touch it?" A moment of thought passed before one of the Primes opened his mouth to speak.

"I think it's a trade," Vector said, his eyes locked onto the cube, "Information for information. In order to store the blueprints for the jet and T-cog, it had to show Kardiness our history. It was a subconscious trade her processor made, apparently."

Prima blinked, "Did it trade with me?"

"Perhaps," The multi-colored Prime replied. He turned towards the direction of home, "We should return, the solar cycle is ending."

 _That it was_ , Kardiness hummed her agreement. The sky was beginning to dim as the distant star moved to hide under the horizon. The femme began walking with the Primes, two of which were carrying the cube, Prima and Vector. She decided not to fly, for her systems were in need of energon and recharge. She was tired. Her wings stretched above her helm, and her arms shot straight upwards, she let out a silent yawn and relaxed, letting her wings automatically fold back into place on her back strut.

She was ready for a nice, long recharge.

* * *

 _A blinding light blocked her vision before it resided to reveal a figure, collapsed on the metal ground. It looked up with its wide optics, heavily venting and glancing around. A servo was placed on its chest as though it were to calm the raging spark inside it's chamber. It let out a sigh before glancing at the pit behind it._

 _"Primus..." it, he, whispered. His optics glanced down into the hole where the glowing light originated from, he found a giant spark way down in the core._ _Kardiness immediately recognized this Cybertronian when he finally stood. It was Prima._

 _He glanced around before staring back into the Well, "I can feel her... Where is my sister?"_

 _This question seemed to reappear every time a new Prime was due. Prima wanted his unseen twin, Kardiness, and hadn't receive her until four long, agonizing stellar cycles._

* * *

Kardiness awoke to a loud _clang_ , followed by a shout. Sitting up, she rubbed at her optics. Her frame shifted stiffly before she swung her legs over the berth and let her pedes touch the floor. The femme walked over to the door, and stepped out as it opened for her. Her pedes led her to the main room, where she found the cube on the floor and Prima glaring at it. Micronus looked grumpy, even if it was the beginning of the solar cycle.

Onyx and Vector were no where to be seen, probably in their berth rooms.

"What do you _mean_ it shocked you?" Micronus said incredulously. He gestured at the cube, "It's an inanimate object, I doubt that it actually shocked you."

Prima shot him a pointed stare, " _You_ try touching it."

"Um, no thanks. I'll pass," The Minicon said, waving his servo and shrugging it off. He walked nonchalantly out of the room, past Kardiness, who he greeted with the nod of his head and an "all yours."

Deciding to step in, the femme looked to her twin, "What exactly happened?"

"The fragged thing shocked me!"

Kardiness glanced to the cube, which was still on the floor, "Maybe it doesn't like to be touched?" Prima snorted, seeming to disagree with the idea. Kardiness looked in between the fallen cube and her twin, "What were you doing that made it shock you?"

"I was testing it," he said, glancing at the cube and the couple wires lying sprawled out over the floor, "I connected the wires to the cube, then connected it to me. And it shocked me. It wasn't too painful, but it did startle me."

The femme warily glanced at the cube, "I know this is a stretch, but what if instead of using his spark, Primus used this cube, the Cube, to create us?" Her twin raised an eye ridge, "I know, I know. But if you activate your sensors, it gives off a massive signature."

And so he did. Prima's optics dimmed for a second before brightening in awe. He let out a whisper, "You're right..."

Kardiness stared at the smooth surface of the Cube, as she will call it, how it held information and this unreal amount of energy, she will never know. Nor where the object came from. Was this thing built or found? Who used it before? Should they trust it? The questions continued to buzz in her head. She looked to Prima as he let out an awed mutter.

"It powered us."


	17. Queen of her Domain

**I'm not good with fluff... oh gosh. So here we go and I hope you enjoy!**

 **Any mistakes are blamed on my phone. We all know how much of a douche autocorrect can be...**

 **Chapter 16**

 **"Queen of her Domain"**

Vector Prime visibly frowned at the Cube, hearing about its energy that Prima recently felt. His scanners _did_ pick up on energy readings coming from the Allspark.

This wasn't what he was expecting, nor what he wanted.

Kardiness could easily tell, judging by the disapproving expression he was displaying for the other Primes to see. No others were feeling any different, save for the young Prime herself.

This foreign object, a source of power that they theorized was used to create them, is something they cannot bring themselves to trust. Kardiness was open-minded, however. She was welcoming the Cube and was continuously fascinated with it.

"Don't touch it," Prima said, smacking her hand away from the surface. Her pout greeted his optics, but nonetheless did she refrain from making contact with the smooth sides of the Cube.

It was odd for such a simple object to hold such complex powers.

She had the sudden urge to touch it again, the femme was drawn to it. It quite possibly created all of them, assisting Primus in his creations. She gazed at her dull reflection on the Cube, "Should we test it?"

"No," They all said.

Onyx simply gazed curiously at the Allspark, "But aren't you curious of what it could do?"

They repeated the same stern "no." And that was end of discussion. The two younger Primes glanced at each other, knowing they had the same ideas. Who had to listen to the other Primes? Not them.

Kardiness slipped out of the berth room she shares with Prima, though they were more secluded from each other in it.

She silently walked down the corridor, aiming for end. While passing by, she tapped her knuckle on the door to Onyx's door without stopping her walk. Her pedes found themselves out of the corridor and into the main hangar, where the Cube lied.

The femme walked up to the Allspark, grazing her fingers over the smooth surface which caused little shocks to travel up her arm.

But it wasn't a smooth surface...

Upon closer inspectaion, there were faint markings indenting the shape. They were just beginning to make themselves visible. All five of the current Primes made contact with the Cube, was that the reason there were markings?

One particular marking was slighty deeper than the rest, it was large and drew a circle on the grey cube. Multiple rings, for that matter.

More marks and symbols were etched onto its surface and Kardiness couldn't help but inspect each one.

Onyx made the same observation when he had become curious of what his close friend was gazing intently at. His amazed golden optics scanned over the symbols. It was captivating.

Kardiness frowned, the other Primes didn't have the same fascination, or curiosity that the younger two had. Why couldn't they trust this obejct, when it was given to them by Primus himself?

This was a time when she wished she weren't so young. She could be a leader like Prima, if only she had been born with him.

But was it age that made him leader? Was it his wise, yet laidback style? Or was it that Primus assigned him the duty?

Did he earn his respect?

Kardiness blankly stared at the Cube, her entire palm placed flat against it. Shocks were sent up her arm and into her processor, it being filled with images and sounds.

Her thoughts shifted over to Onyx, who was gazing at her curiously. He grinned, "Hi."

"Hey," the two young Primes diverted their attention from the Cube to each other. Blue optics met and clashed with golden ones.

"We should go fly around," he stood, rolled his shoulders and neck, stretching his wings as well.

Kardiness nodded, "Agreed." She let her servo slip and fall off the Allspark, leaving it to itself as she also stood and stretched. Her optic turned to the black Prime before her, "I'll fly with you this time."

He smiled softly, taking her servo in his. That simple action sent a jittery feeling in her spark, it meant so much more in her processor. He seemed oblivious of his actions and continued on walking outside, stretching his wings before transforming. Primus, Kardiness loved saying that

She watched as his beast mode shifted and clicked into place, setting his gaze on her before taking off into the sky. Kardiness crouched, cables bunching up in her legs before she too took off with the mighty flap of her wings.

It was harder to fly in bipedal mode than it was in her jet, but with the help of the thrusters positioned just below where her wings and back meet, she was able to keep a quick and steady flight.

It was just the two of them up here, silent save for the occasional flap of their wings.

Two gazes met one another and they welcomed the feeling of excitement. Whether or not it was from flying, or each other, they didn't know nor care at the moment.

Kardiness smirked before activating her thrusters and speeding off skyward. She caught Onyx by surprise and he trailed a long way behind her. There was a considerably large gap between the two before the femme slowed down for her friend to catch up.

And catch up he did, the Predacon sped up and headed straight towards Kardiness.

He flung himself onto his back and collided his stomach with the frame of the femme, securing her in his arms before curving and performing a nosedive as a way to tease his involuntary passenger.

The Prime struggled to get out of his playful grip, laughing as he folded in hs wings to speed his dive, the wind blew in Kardiness' faceplates as she looked at his chin. She wiggled, "You're gonna get us killed!"

"Killed? No. Hurt? Maybe. Excited? Yes." He smirked at her before turning his attention back to how close they were to the ground... it was uncomfortably close. His grip tightened and he murmured, "Don't worry, I got ya."

He rolled in the air before opening his wings, the air was quickly caught in the metal and it slowed his descent. He soared before making a soft landing on the ground, releasing Kardiness.

She smiled, "That was amazing," she smacked his arm as he snickered, "Don't ever do that again!"

"I'll be sure to do it in the near future," mirth filled his optics. A laugh made its way through his mouth, lipplates curving into a smle.

Kardiness found herself drawn to the black mech, her haze fixated nervously on him. Her spark began to rattle, _Primus, what am I doing?_

She walked towards him, optics now locked with his. The black Prime didn't move, even when she became close enough that their chestplates just barely grazed each other.

Her servos softly planted themselves on his cheeks, thumbs caressing over the cheek plates that represented cheekbones. She leaned in.

Her lipplates pressed against his in a soft kiss.


	18. Unleashed Energy

**Poll is still up!**

 **A lot of you are being really quiet throughout this second POV. Is it that you're not reading it, or just not feeling up to it to leave a review?**

* * *

 **Chapter 17** **"Unleashed Energy"**

Kardiness leaned back, her servos sliding down onto his chestplates and her helm bowed under his neck. The femme's optics were wide, _slag, why did I do that?_

Onyx's servos were still placed welcomingly on her waist, his chin met the top of her helm.

The two stood in silence, a comfortable silence. Though for Kardiness, it was more or less so. Slight regret filled her processor and she continuously questioned if that was the right move to take. The black Prime holding her didn't seem to have a problem with it, so maybe it was?

 _"Kardiness, you need to come back,_ he paused, she could hear him take a deep breath from over the bond, _"It's the Allspark."_ The femme stiffly stepped away and out of his arms, much to Onyx's confusion. She told him what Prima had said, and they took off towards their home.

When they arrived, the two were blown away with the shock of how much energy was radiating off of the Cube. It was unnatural for its signature to be spiraling off the charts when only a few kliks ago, it was normal.

Kardiness tentatively stepped up to the Allspark, her twin had backed away from the mysterious object. Onyx trailed behind her, curiosity taking the best of them. Prima warily glanced in between the two Primes and the Allspark.

"What exactly did it do?"

In response, her brother pointed over to the jet she had designed and created. Well, where it _formerly_ was. Now, there was a Cybertronian standing, more like pinned down by Vector, in the space. He was considerably small, perhaps shorter than Kardiness. His armor was of a dusty brown, and it looked like he was in a completely different set of armor with a different alternate mode, odd enough.

"So, it brought the jet to life?" Onyx questioned, more like stated. His optics flicked back and forth, from the Cube to the Cybertronian.

Micronus also glanced, his helm moving side to side as he did so, "Presumably, yes," he vented, "The stellar cycle is coming to an end. We better get this all under control before the sixth Prime arrives."

"Right," They all nodded, agreeing with the small blue mech. Shivers made their way up Kardiness' back strut, _what if it does this to every machine?_ The Cybertronian growled from beneath Vector's firm hold. Every Prime took a cautious step back, save for the Prime restricting this mysterious mech who happened to be Kardiness' jet prototype.

"Vector, escort our... new arrival to the spare room and make sure it's locked. I think it would be wise for some recharge, judging by how late it is now."

They all moved out, heading towards their respective quarters. Kardiness slipped into hers, bidding good night to Onyx and closing the door after Prima. The two made their way to their berths and sat on them. The femme looked up, "So, what did you do today?"

"Not much. Just working on the T-cog and some ideas for an alt. mode."

"Oh, let me see," She stood and leaned over the datapad he took out. It powered on to reveal the designs sketched onto the screen. It was that of a supercar with a twin turbo charged V10 engine, it was compatible with his current engine. But there were a few errors, "I can see this happening, but with this metal used, you'll be too heavy to reach the speeds the engine can provide. Plus, I'd go with a more sleek style instead of this round one. Not too sleek, though. Also, having four wheel drive can deem itself useful, at times."

She continued on with her list, scribbling on the datapad and making notes for her twin and his design. Eventually, both were worn out and decided it'd be best for recharge. Well, that's what Prima suggested. Kardiness couldn't shut down her systems with the thoughts of that new mech buzzing around.

The femme swung her pedes over the side of the berth and let them slide down to touch the floor. They carried her out the berth room, after ensuring her twin was deep in recharge, and down the corridor to the spare room where the mech was residing.

Her servos swiftly worked to unlock the door, and it clicked open and revealed the small room, and the mech sitting on the berth. He looked troubled, confused.

Kardiness hesitantly walked over, purposely making noise to gain his attention, which ended up successful as his red optics met her blue ones. Excellent, it's a start.

The mech scooted away, and Kardiness held out her servos, "No, no, no. It's okay," the mech slightly relaxed, "Good, that's good. We're cool, right?"

He didn't reply. Did the mech understand her? The first response was incoherent words crackling from his vocal processor, it must still be out of tune judging by how young he is. Once he became assimilated with the feel of having a voice, the young mech began babbling like a sparkling. One thing was for sure...

He didn't know how to speak Cybertronian.

Kardiness sighed, then smiled. She opened her subspace and pulled out her spare cube of energon. She then handed it to the mech and showed him what he did with it. Remembering the short visual lesson, he brought the cube to his lipplates and let the cool liquid slide into his mouth. His face scrunched up before becoming accustomed to the taste.

She knew he wasn't one of them, a Prime. But he was still a Cybertronian and would be joining them in their growth and journey through the beginning ages of Cybertron.

Her throat cables constricted as she remembered about the battle the Seven were to fight in. Primus against his older twin, Unicron. This was a fight they were not prepared for just yet.

Pit, they weren't even prepared for what the Allspark have them.


	19. Awakening

**Really down today... I learned my best friend has been cutting himself, for three years. It's scary, guys. I don't know what to do, and he seems real sensitive about it.** **Guys, please don't cut yourselves. It really hurts, not just physically, but emotionally too. My heart shattered when I saw the red scabs on my friend's wrist and I immediately became afraid.** **Plus it's that time of month again for me... I'm really on edge.**

 **All in all, today was not a good day** **. So I'm really sorry for the extra short chapter. I promise you the next ones _will_ be longer.**

 **The poll is still up.**

* * *

 **Chapter 18**

 **"Awakening"**

 _This_ _is it,_ Kardiness and Onyx locked gazes, immediately becoming shy of each other. They were going to do this, whether or not they were over the awkwardness that greeted them. _Time to test this out, once more._

Prima held forward the small device he had in his servos. Lightly touching the Allspark, he jolted as a shock went through both him and the mini machine. Moments passed before the device rattled, then began lifting its plates and shifting into a small bot.

It was a Minicon.

Small blue optics met theirs, and this was living proof that they were brought into this world using the Cube.

It was interesting for the Primes, to see another Cybertronian, a non-Prime. Other than the jet mech, who Kardiness had claimed as a young brother.

"Do you know what this means?" Micronus muttered, standing straight up to see the Minicon in Prima's servos. They all looked at him, expecting a response, "We can build a whole society using the Cube."

"There are so many different varieties of Cybertronians, though," Kardiness said, "They're bound to clash."

Prima shrugged, still staring down at the small mech in his servos, "We could have tribes?"

They all agreed, all except Vector. He looked dismayed with this idea, "We are preparing for a war."

"Yes, but if we _die_ in that war, who will take our place? Besides, we aren't beginning our official 'preparation' for another few stellar cycles," The femme Prime said, only to turn and coo at the sparkling which she took from her twin. She smiled, "We could use some help thriving."

Prima hummed his agreement, glancing to Vector, only to see him nodding. It was odd, being able to create Cybertronians just like that. It can't be _that_ easy, right?

"Do you think there's another way to create sparklings?" Kardiness innocently asked, keeping her voice small.

"Possibly. Interfacing equipment shouldn't be for nothing when a variety of species wide spread use intercourse to conceive," Micronus answered, glancing in between each Prime.

The youngest Prime's optics lit up, "So there _is_ more life out there."

He nodded, "We came from _someone._ Even Primus was built."

There were aliens out there. And they were about to make more life to add on to the ongoing universe. It was odd to think of it.

Kardiness scratched the belly of the Minicon sparkling and it warbled. Her faceplates turned up into a smile before handing off the young Cybertronian to Micronus, who should rightfully raise the small being. He gladly held the sparkling in his servos.

The femme looked back to the Cube, it has been about an orn since the jet has been created. And the Primes have been working on their T-cogs and alt. modes.

She frowned, "Will the Cube ever run out of energy?"

"Maybe Primus gave it to us for that reason, to preserve the Allspark and create a society?" Prima theorized,

"But how?" Onyx said after kliks of his servo resting on the Cube, most likely exchanging information with the object.

The leader shrugged, not knowing himself, "We'll figure it out soon enough."

Kardiness glanced to the black Prime a few histers away from him, _had I gone too far with the kiss?_ Her servo subconsciously touched her lipplates, feeling as though his mouth was still there, claiming hers.

It was a steady passion they grew for each other. And in the midst of all that awkwardness, is the love they know is there. It just takes time for it to become more.

She couldn't help but stare as the muscular frame of the Prime. It was expected of him to be a burly mech when his alt. mode was an intimidating Predacon. It amazed her, the curves of his sleek form that made up shoulder, hip, etc. joints.

His bipedal mode bore a boxy chest, seeming oversized, but it efficiently protected the spark casing. Sitting upon his back, in between the shoulder joints, were his trademark wings that have him the beast effect. Slender legs held all that weight, along with steady arms... Kardiness snapped out of her drooling and realized she was revelling in his appearance.

Golden optics met her blue ones, and her fuel tanks flipped.

* * *

The Primes were later dismissed to their own time by Prima. Kardiness stuck with her twin, following him to their quarters. Her brother opened the door and allowed her b in first before coming in from behind her. He made a bee line for his berth and sat on it, legs dangling off the edge. They both had grabbed a cube of energon before heading to their room.

"So, tell me all about it," he smiled, optics full of mirth when the femme questioned what he meant, "You and Onyx, of course! Their _has_ to be some kind of chemistry going on between the two of you!"

She sputtered, almost spit taking her energon, "How... What gave you that idea?"

The Prime tapped his chestplates, right above the spark that kept him online, "The bond."

 _Slag, I forgot about the bond!_ Kardiness facepalmed, "Great."

His optics lit up in mischief, and the femme immediately hated having a twin.


	20. Kickstart

**Starting today, I will be updating on Fridays, because I find it difficult to write with PVA and school taking up twelve hours of my day.** **I feel so bad having to break one of my posting streaks, but I leave myself in bed just before midnight trying to type the chapter, I'm losing valuable sleep and I have no choice but to postpone Aftershock's chapters to the next day.**

 **So I took a short hiatus to catch up and remove stress, I'll catch up on the lost chapter. Thanks for the patient wait!** **And for 50 reviews!** **And we got some fluff, so tell me how I do please xD**

* * *

 **Chapter 19**

 **"Kickstart"**

After what seemed like breems, Prima finally stopped bugging his twin for answers about her and Onyx.

Yes, something was starting between them. Yes, it seemed to have already begun. Yes, they've had shared a berth countless times. Prima had waggled his optic ridges in a suggestive way, in which Kardiness reeled back, quickly denying the idea.

"No, no! We _just_ got past the first phase!"

"And what's the second phase?" Prima quirked a ridge, watching his sister pacing the room.

Kardiness smacked her servo's palm against her forehead, "Like... kissing," the young Prime felt weird discussing this with Prima, but it was difficult to keep a secret from him, since they share a spark.

It was an odd concept. Twins. Their race _did_ begin with twins, starting with Unicron and Primus. The evil Cybertronian is the eldest of the two, the first before he was split and Primus was born. The twins are stuck in an eternal battle. Prima and Kardiness were based off of them, but the femme nearly offlined since her frame was incomplete. Kardiness doesn't actually remember anything from before she was sent out of the Well.

The femme glanced to her twin, who has since fallen into recharge after kliks of silence. She smiled softly and slipped off her berth, striding over and out the door to their berthroom.

Kardiness silently made her way down the corridor and stopped in front of one specific door she's come to know. Knocking on it lightly, the Prime opened it and stepped in. What she found was Onyx asleep, hunched over his desk with a datapad still on. Kardiness shook her head, _typical Onyx._

"Hey," she breathed, "Wake up."

A mutter passed the black Prime's lip plates before his golden optics onlined, "Wha...?"

"I'm gonna go check on the sparklings, I'll be back in a few kliks to help you out, be online by then," Onyx nodded and rubbed his optics, finally noticing the datapad under his arms and drearily moved it out of the way. Kardiness smiled and walked out, planning on returning.

The femme Prime soon found herself in a familiar room, where the jet was currently residing in along with the Minicon sparkling. _We should give them designations so we're not calling them "the jet" and "the Minicon."_ _And teach them our language_. But slowly, the two sparklings were learning to speak, the jet ahead of the jumped when she found a third figure in the room, but quickly relaxed as she realized it was only Micronus feeding energon to the sparkling. He looked up and nodded in greeting.

"What do you think of building a society?" The young Prime said, walking over to an energon cube for the jet, who watched her every move with red optics.

Micronus was silent for a moment before venting, "While it is wise to create heirs of a sort, they might be in great peril if Unicron were to know about them. But yes, we should repopulate," Micronus glanced at the two sparklings, the one in his hold and the other inspecting the energon cube Kardiness handed him.

"...What should we name them?" The femme said, staring into the crimson optics of the jet.

Micronus glanced to his small mech, "Not sure. I was thinking High Wire for this one. What about him?"

The Minicon gestured to the small mech in front of Kardiness, "Jetfire, maybe."

"They seem fitting," the blue mech said, staring thoughtfully into High Wire's young optics, "I like it."

"I hope we aren't making a mistake in bringing new life," Kardiness said, losing her usual jovial self, she quickly became serious, "I would hate for innocent lives to be extinguished." Micronus hummed in agreement, letting her continue.

"After all, freedom is the right of all sentient beings," she vented, "At least, that's what _I_ think."

* * *

Kardiness placed her servos on Onyx's abdomen, interlacing her digits with her arms resting comfortably on his sides. She planted her helm in the crook between the black Prime's wings, crooning softly. She whispered against his back, loving how she could feel him shiver, "I picked a name for the jet."

"Oh yeah?" Onyx said, scribbling something on his datapad before turning and wrapping his own arms around her torso, giving the femme his full attention.

She nodded, helm rubbing against his chestplates, "Named him Jetfire."

"What of the Minicon?" He rumbled, rubbing his digit on the small of her back.

"High Wire," she mumbled, shifting so his chestplates covered her face. She inhaled, "Micronus seems to have taken a liking to the lad."

Onyx hummed in response, backing Kardiness up while maintaining the embrace. A few steps later, the back of the femme's knee joint met the berth and she settled herself on the metal bed, back situating with the flat surface. The black Prime's lip plates met with hers in a quick, passionate kiss before they broke apart, relishing the proximity.

Embarrassment flowed through her processor before dampening. _Slag, I forgot to close the bond..._ She smiled at the golden optics above her, _he'll surely interrogate me next solar cycle._ But tonight was just a night for Kardiness and Onyx to relax in each other's presences, originally to build the T-cogs. It didn't matter for the time being.

In less than an orn, the sixth Prime was to arrive. Everyone was beyond ready, but ever since Kardiness discovered the Allspark, it's been turned upside down and has become complex. The concept of creating new life is complicated, having to use the Allspa-

Kardiness jerked out of her thoughts, almost crashing her forehead into Onyx's. He stopped the stroking on her cheek and stared at her, concerned. She furrowed her optic ridges, "What do we do? Primus uses the Allspark to create us... what about the remaining two Primes?"

"Slag, you're right," Onyx glanced over his shoulder before looking back to his lover. _Lover... I like that..._ "We should tell the others next solar cycle, right?"

"Right."

"But for now," Onyx lovingly stroked her cheek, "It's just you and I."


	21. Entry Number Six

**Next chapter, we're back to Kadence! So say bye to Kardiness for the next ten chapters, she'll be returning at chapter 31.**

 **Any mistakes are blamed lovingly on my phone.**

* * *

 **Chapter 20**

 **"Entry Number Six"**

"Kardiness. Kardiness? Kardiness! _Kardiness!_ " The femme jerked online, her helm collided with Prima's, "Ow. Sister, come on. It's almost time!"

The femme Prime hauled herself off the berth. Prima stood at the entry, the two locked gazes. Kardiness noticed the subtle growth in her brother, as she did for the rest. Each Cybertronian aged differently throughout the remainder of the stellar cycle.

Prima raced down the corridor, gesturing to his twin like an excited sparkling, "Come on, come on!" He exclaimed.

It has been a stellar cycle since Kardiness first onlined and met the Primes. A Prime was built every stellar cycle, and this solar cycle was the time for the sixth Prime. One more to go, and they'll have the seven Primus wants to defeat his twin brother, Unicron.

The twins entered the main room, meeting up with Onyx and Micronus, the Mini-Con informed that Vector had already gone ahead to the Well of All Sparks.

They transformed and moved out.

The alt. modes the other Primes built were odd, to say the least. Micronus was a scooter and Prima, a supercar. Vector doesn't usually transform, but he was also a supercar, if not more bulky than sleek.

* * *

 _Kardiness sat up from the berth, slipping out of Onyx's arms that had previously trapped her in a loose and loving embrace. The femme walked over to the table that held the datapads, subconsciously rubbing her sore abdomen._ _She smiled, glancing back at the black Prime's peaceful frame._ Some night that was _, she thought._

 _Picking up the stylus, Kardiness powered up the datapad that was designated hers. She scrolled through the file list and tapped on a document labeled "T-cog," she was greeted with servowritten Cybertronian notes and sketches of the machine they were to build for the other Primes._

 _Kardiness lost herself in her work and didn't notice the pair of arms that wrapped around her torso until she felt lipplates pressing against her cheek. She happily rumbled, "I take it you had a nice recharge?"_

 _"Only the best, babe," he chuckled. Their relationship definitely progressed throughout the stellar cycle. There was only a couple orns left until the next Prime arrives. He gave her another kiss, "Micronus and Vector informed me that they've begun to build their T-cogs, Prima has yet to tell me."_

 _"Ah, yeah. I'm building it for him," The femme muttered, optics glued onto the screen. She ripped them away and placed her blue orbs on Onyx, who smiled and tightened his grip._

 _..._

 _Prima took his servo away from the Allspark, his visage remaining passive as he took a step back. He vented and looked over to Onyx, who had just entered the room, "I take I'm the first?"_

 _"Yep, c'mon. We've got the T-cog ready for you," The black Prime turned and gestured for his leader to follow, who complied. The two entered Onyx's quarters, finding the berth ready and Kardiness standing off at the side with a datapad in hand, Vector's T-cog sat in front of her on the table. It was going through the basic test, then it'll be ready to be installed into Vector's systems._

 _Without a word given, the femme held out a flashdrive to the passing Onyx, who plucked it out of her servo without sparing a glance. This was a delicate procedure, any words exchanged seems to pressure the Prime._ _Prima lied on the berth and took a long vent._

 _"Alright, let's do this," Onyx said as he injected a sedative._

* * *

All four Primes rushed to the Well at lightning speed. Vector was standing at the ledge of the pit, speaking to Primus. The tall and lean Prime gave a glance to the approaching Primes to gesture his acknowledgement.

"Primus, we call upon your spark to online the next Prime this stellar cycle," Vector says with his authoritative tone. The Well glowed strongly into a, once again, blinding light for a nanoklik before ceasing and revealing a figure.

It fell to the ground with a heavy thud and Kardiness took note on his frame. He had a thin layer of armor, it was a dark navy, almost black like Kardiness, with glowing orange accents, also in the crease of armor pieces. The leader of the Primes spoke up, muttering his idea, "We need the Cube to activate his spark..."

Kardiness looked down in thought, then looked to Prima, "Didn't Primus have the original consideration of thirteen Primes?"

"Yes," Prima replied, "But he does not have time for thirteen stellar cycles, let alone seven. Hence why you were sparked with me to conserve time, which backfired. Unicron is nearing in, he might know about Primus' reason for silence in battle. We need to be cautious and be ready for when Unicron makes a move."

Kardiness, Onyx and Mincronus exchange glances. The femme looks over to Prima, "What are we going to do...?"

"I hope he doesn't stress himself creating these frames," Vector looked down at the core of Cybertron. It glowed in reassurance.

"All we need is the Allspark," Prima glances to his sister, who has been placed in charge of the Cube, "Where is it?"

Kardiness pointed to the metal block that sat near the edge, moved there the previous solar cycle. Prima moved towards it and tapped the Cubr, always having the need to ensure it still functions. He picked it up with the help of Vector and hauled it closer to the frame of the new Prime.

Once settled, they forced contact between the motionless Prime and the Cube. A spark flew out from the chestplates of the arrival, a blue glow emanating from his spark. Crimson optics flickered on and glanced around both drearily and warily, his optics seemingly squinting at Prima.

Vector crouched in front of the Prime's vision, "What is the designation in which Primus has given you?"

Like Kardiness, it took a few kliks to get his vocal processor in order. With a servo still placed on his throat cables, he spoke, "Megatronus Prime, Guardian of Entropy and Warrior of Darkness."

Prima narrowed his optics at that last bit.

Vector ignored it and helped the Prime stand, giving the others a better look at his appearance. He was a tall figure, quite possibly taller than Prima and looking almost as old as Micronus. His appearance was quite intimidating, his crimson gaze was threatening and the way he moves is vigorous. Prima hopes Primus hasn't made a bad decision in making a Warrior of Darkness. But the Warrior's job is to keep the darkness of times manageable, not out of whack and uncontrollable.

There was but one more left until the Dynasty of Primes is complete. Megatronus is the second to last before the final battle begins.


	22. A Family

**Welcome back, lovelies. Say hello to Kadence!**

 **Sorry for this late-at-night (for me, anyway) post, I spent seven hours composing a song with the instruments piano, violin, bass drum, timpani and a cymbal. I called it Check-Zero, and maybe... just _maybe_... I could join Monstercat. It's a long shot though but it doesn't hurt to try.**

* * *

 **Chapter 21**

 **"A Family"**

Previously...

 _"'Ey, Sire, you got any energon?"_

 _Kadence's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the word "Sire," but continued her walk to her work table nonetheless. She grabbed her water bottle and unscrewed the cap, turning back to Jazz and Ratchet, "What does 'Sire' mean?"_

 _She took a swig from her water, listening to Ratchet's hesitant reply, "It... In Cybertronian terms... Sire means father."_

 _The red head sputtered and coughed, the water going down the wrong pipe. She set the water bottle onto the work table and bent over, a hand on her chest as she choked, letting out a chuckle in the middle of her coughing. After her fit ceased she looked back up at Ratchet, her eyes wide with surprise and confusion._

 _"Jazz is your_ son _?"_

Now...

 _June 18, 2007_

"'Ey, how ya doin', Kade?" Jazz said, setting his elbow on top of the girl's head, looking over her sheet music. Kadence playfully glared at the holoform Ratchet had recently installed. Nonstop, Jazz has been hanging around her and always wanted to be _with_ her. It happened ever since the medical officer, or their shared father, explained everything.

 _"I never bonded with Jazz's creator, and I fell out of the love I had for her before the war," his shoulders visibly slackened, "I never saw her again after the first attack on Praxus occured. Millenia later, Jasmine came into my life and Kadence was the result."_

The red head looked back at her ...brother, since step-siblings weren't a thing on Cybertron. It was hard to believe Jazz was the medic's creation, judging by their appearances, which are complete opposites. And their personalities. The grey Autobot seemed to have taken more from his carrier. Kadence remained around her... father, _sounds odd saying that_ , and her brother, _that too._ Right now, she was _trying_ to work on her sheet music, but Jazz insisted that he distract her. The girl shooed him away, "Jazz, quit it."

"Nah," he let his arms fall over her shoulders and set his chin on top of her head, "I like it here."

In return, she sighed and scribbled down a couple notes on her paper before placing it back on her desk. Kadence flicked her pencil at the holoform behind her, "I'mma get Ironhide on ya if you don't go away."

"'Ey, well what do ya know? Ya pickin' up on ma slang," he chuckled as she facepalmed, "Ya should talk like tha' more often."

The red head rolled her eyes with a smile, "Okay," Turning, she shook off Jazz and looked to the two dogs on her bed, "Mindy, Pepito, let's go outside."

Both formerly tired dogs perked up and rushed off the bed, hurrying to get out the door. Kadence gestured for Jazz to follow and he complied. While passing through the family room, the girl greeted Sarah and Will with a simple nod, then continued on her way to the backdoor. She opened it and the dogs raced out and ran across the field to Primus knows where, as Ratchet likes to say.

When Kadence stepped out, she was greeted with a shadow, a large one. She looked up for the source and found a familiar black leg. It was Ironhide. Said Autobot scowled at the two playing dogs before placing his gaze on the human below him. She was officially announced his charge after some consideration, and now they can still continue their morning spars. They haven't had one in about a week.

"You up for a spar, or no?"

He turned his entire frame towards her, and huffed, "No."

Kadence raised her eyebrows, he was never one to turn down a challenge. She held up her hands, "Aight. That's cool, guess you're a wimp."

He glared at her, but chose not to reply.

The red head smiled triumphantly, her white teeth showing through her lips. Her hand grabbed a hairtie off her wrist and wrapped up her hair in a sloppy bun, short hairs annoyingly remained on her face, unable to be tied back. Once done, her eyes found Ironhide's again, only to see he was still staring at her, "You sure?"

"Positive," he turned away and trudged off. _Jeez, what's up with him today?_

* * *

It was a weird feeling. Ironhide didn't know why he was feeling it, and it agitated him. He needed to go blow off some steam. The Autobot turned away from his charge and stomped off to the fields.

He shouldn't be having these feelings. ...He wasn't even sure _what_ these emotions were, and that only added on to his irritation.

Ever since Jazz had his holoform installed, Kadence has been seen less and less by the weapons specialist, and he hated it. Ironhide understood the two were siblings, but it just... didn't feel right when Kadence isn't around. It felt like he... missed her...?

 _What are these feelings?_ He shook his helm and quicker his pace, _why is this happening._ Taking a quick glance back and immediately regretting it, Ironhide transformed and drove off. As he had guessed, Kadence was watching him leave as well as keeping an eye on her... overly sized rodents.

 _I just need to blow off some steam and I'll be good,_ he felt his speedometer raise, _right?_ His alt. mode conquered the rough terrainunderfoot, _maybe I should have taken her offer to spar?_

 _Nah..._

* * *

Kadence watched as the black TopKick disappeared around the hills, the engine fading away from her sensitive ears. She placed her attention on Jazz and her dogs. The grey Autobot has taken a liking to Mindy and Pepito, he always loved seeing them. But everyone knew Optimus was the one who would melt upon seeing any lifeform, becoming instantly intrigued and curious. The leader was always so open minded.

A few days had passed since a temporary base has been set up near Tranquility for the Autobots, only Optimus and Ratchet were there and Jazz was due to return in a couple of days. Bumblebee and Ironhide were to continue their duties as guardians. Kadence is supposed to leave with Jazz to the base for reasons she doesn't know quite yet.

 _Eventually,_ she hummed to herself, _I'll know._ Her eyes flicked between the three playing figures. Jazz's smile was always contagious and made her lips pull up. A breeze brushed her bare shoulders and the girl shivered, rubbing her palm against where the wind hit. It was too early for cool breezes, but compared to the blazing heat the sun provided in Nevada, Kadence was grateful for some cold for a change. She hummed to herself again, _maybe we'll get some snow when winter comes?_ Her smile widened as Jazz fell onto his back, letting the two energetic dogs pounce on him and lick his face. The wind blew again, making Kadence scrunch up against it.

She grimaced, _we better get some snow in December if it's gonna be cold in the summer._


	23. Father's Intuition

**I haven't been getting enough sleep and actually _forgot_ to post this chapter and thought throughout Saturday that I had posted it... Whoops :)**

 **Chapter 22**

 **"Father's Intuition"**

 _June 20, 2007_

Kadence set down her violin in its case, loosening the bow before placing it in its hold. She took her hair out of the bun it was in and let it fall. The girl glanced out the window to see Jazz transforming into the Porsche she picked out for him.

It was white with duel stripes, one red, the other blue. An Autobot insignia sat proudly on his hood in black. The 911 Turbo revved its engine as Kadence walked out of her room and down the stairs, only to be greeted by Sarah's arms outside.

"C'mon Kade," Jazz said from his alt. mode, "We gotta road t'cover."

The girl glanced at him, "As soon as she lets me go."

Sarah had refused to let all of them leave. Everyone. Apparently, Ironhide and Will were coming as well. She had already released the man and now trapped Kadence.

"Sarah... I gotta go," the redhead chuckled, pulling away. The blond woman let her arms slip off with a silent okay.

"C'mon," Jazz said as Kadence climbed into his passenger seat. She set her backpack down onto the floor and smiled at the holoform, he returned it. Yesterday, she figured out she was to stay at base for about a week, then come back with Ironhide. The Porsche slung the seatbelt over Kadence and his engine rumbled to life, "Ready?"

"Yeah," Kadence said, nodding. She watched as Will got into Ironhide and shut the door behind him. This ride was about an hour and a half, depending on the traffic. She glanced at the radio, then Jazz, "Where is the base?"

"Outskirts o' Tranquility," he shrugged nonchalantly. He drove after Ironhide with ease and played some music at a low volume for the hour they were on the road.

* * *

Kadence stepped out of the Porsche, letting Jazz close the door after her. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked towards the entrance to the base.

The lieutenant behind her transformed and scooped the girl up, receiving asqueal in surprise. He chuckled and carried him over to the remaining distance from the entrance. The Autobot walked in and was greeted with the bipedal modes of Ironhide, Optimus and Ratchet. Crouching, Jazz tilted his servo and Kadence slipped off.

She casually placed her hands on her hips, "So what's up?" After glancing around the large hangar, her eyes met Optimus', "I was brought here because...?"

"I need to run a couple tests, make sure you're healthy," Ratchet answered, "Your body is reacting to my presence, and I fear the energon in your blood might react negatively due to the foreign frame it's in."

Following her biological father to the, what seemed like, a med bay, she questioned it, "Why is it reacting to you?"

Glancing behind him, Ratchet answered as he set down a servo for her, "It wants to reestablish the bond it created all those years ago, from when Jasmine and I were still together. I have a feeling the reaction will be the small amount of energon trying to overtake your organic features," he paused as he entered the med bay, "My blood has been dying off in you during my absence, since I returned, it wants to redeem itself. It might try to activate your T-cog..."

Now he was muttering to himself as he deposited Kadence onto the berth. She furrowed her eyebrows, "T-cog?"

"Yes," he said before transforming and activating his holoform, "Transformational cogs are the organ that allows us to transform. If yours activates, it might clash with your organic flesh and... there could be some problems."

"I would turn into a Cybertronian or what?" Ratchet sat her down at a table, tying a band on her arm and preparing a syringe.

He pointed the needle at her arm, "The difficulties can include metal overtaking you, energon poisoning, though I highly doubt that since you were born with it," he inserted the syringe and took the blood from the vein in her elbow, "Worst case scenario, you'd die. But that won't happen."

He turned away and began testing the sample of her blood. Minutes passed and he hummed, "Twelve percent energon... I'll have to monitor your energon levels throughout this week, alright?" She nodded in response, "Good. You're free to go."

She pursed her lips and offered his invitation onto the servo he held in front of her. Kadence stepped off and walked out of the med bay. The girl hummed, looking around, "Alright... now to get lost finding my way back."

She began walking to the right, hoping that's where they came from.

* * *

"Hey, there she is," Will smiled at his adopted daughter, "We were just talking about you."

Kadence raised an eyebrow, "Really now?" She chuckled, shaking her head, "Well that's great to know."

The girl strode over to where Will stood with his arms crossed. Ironhide was behind him in bipedal mode, Kadence looked up, "Still not up for a spar?"

He grunted in return, stalking away to a different hangar, and the girl followed. Ironhide transformed and continued his way, Kadence jogged to catch up with his slow moving form, apparently he drove at a lower speed for her to keep up. She placed a hand on his passenger door before running forward. He revved and sped right past her, winning the short lived challenge.

She stood in the hanger, trying to catch her breath from the sprint. Looking around, she breathed, "What is this room?"

There were targets, stalls to shoot them, mats, guns lining the walls, etc. Ironhide activated his holoform and proudly said, "The training room."

 _Of course,_ Kadence would've facepalmed right then and there if the Autobot hadn't distracted her, calling the girl over to the mats. He let her stretch for a minute before sliding into position.

"Ready?" He smirked as she lowered and raised her fists.

He lunged at her.

 _It feels great to actually spar again,_ Kadence let out a puff of air as she blocked his first attack, _I'm sure he's thinking the same._


	24. Taking Over

**Here's the chapter I promised I'd make up.** **And happy birthday to my writing career _and_ KADENCE! Omp, two years ago she came into my writing and I wrote New Life.**

 **Thank you to all of you who have been with me since day one.**

 **Chapter 23**

 **"Taking Over"**

 _June 22, 2007_

"You're free to go," Ratchet said, letting his daughter hop onto his servo, "You and Ironhide need to go easy on those spars, got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," she rolled her eyes with a playful grin. Kadence rubbed her wrist, where she had sprained it from a match. There was now a bandage wrapped to keep it in place so it can heal. It had been a couple of days since she came to base. Morning and night, Ratchet would test her blood and all that jazz. Kadence surprisingly hasn't grown tired of it. Truth be told, she loved being around him, no matter how much of a grouch he can be at times. Everyone else, on the other hand, tried to stay away from the medic and leave as soon as possible. Kadence took her time exiting the room. She wanted to stay, but respected that Ratchet has other things to attend to. She turned, "Hey Ratch'?"

"Hm?" He turned to see the human, his gaze locking with hers to signal that she has his attention.

"Are you and Jazz close?"

Ratchet hummed in thought, eyes, optics, trailing around the room before returning to Kadence, "Not as much as we were before the war. Which was long ago..." He paused a moment, looking down at the ground, "We had to separate on multiple occasions, sometimes we wouldn't see each other for a very long time. Longest I can remember was a whole vorn. The bond has been faint since, Jazz and I don't commonly touch it."

"Oh," She looked down, then met his optics again, which were watching her every move with a medic's gaze, "Will we ever have a bond?"

The medic stopped, setting down his tool and turning, "...If you want to have one."

 _That didn't exactly answer my question,_ sighing, she turned to make her leave, "I'll let you work. We'll meet up at seven, yes?"

He nodded, and she walked out the door, bidding farewell to her father. _Should I start calling him that? Father? Dad? Sire?_ Her eyes roamed the semi empty hallways, a small nod offered to the soldiers who made eye contact with her, they returned it in a brisk flick of their chins. One actually saluted her. Kadence shrugged, _guess that's what happens when you're the adopted daughter of the Captain._

The girl found herself in the rec. room, a hangar she has yet to be in. What she found was the other three Autobots lounging around. More like Jazz chilling, Ironhide tweaking his cannons next to the saboteur, and Optimus standing like the composed leader he is. Kadence wave, "'Sup guys."

"Ay, Kade," her brother cracked a grin, "How was t'visit with ol' Hatchet?"

"Great." She chuckled as his smile loosened. That was not the answer he was expecting. The red head pointed a finger at him, "Expect the unexpected, bro."

Ironhide eyed her, slowing his movements on his cannons. He huffed, "Guess you sprained it?" She nodded, walking over to Jazz, "Did the swelling stop at least?"

"Yeah," the girl stole a glance to her guardian, her shoulders slackened, "Ironhide, it wasn't your fault. It was just an accident. These things happen to me all the time."

"Kadence, I hurt you. I'm supposed to protect yo-"

She glanced at him, which successfully shut the Autobot up. Sighing, his charge turned to him, "It's okay. I forgive you."

Stealing a quick look, Kadence could see that Optimus was observing them in his peripheral vision. It looked both soft and hard at the same time, which doesn't make much sense to the girl. _Whatever is going on in that head of his, I hope it's good._

* * *

Kadence rolled over, huffing and furrowing her eyebrows. _It's so fragging hot!_ She groaned as she felt sweat gather up on her back, stomach, armpits, you name it. It was just freezing cold, now it's hot as hell?

Sitting up, the girl rubbed her eyes, then removed the blankets from her body. A refreshing cold waft of air hit her, she immediately relaxed and stayed like that for a minute before the heat caught up again. _Dammit, why!_

The tired red head trudged out of bed, slipping on some satisfactory clothes before stepping out of her bedroom, feet set on autopilot as she walked down the hall. It was still too hot, and the clothes she was wearing weren't helping what so ever.

Kadence slid into the med bay, trying to keep quiet as she paced across the room towards the door that no doubt must lead to Ratchet's quarters. She knocked on it once, twice, thrice before there was a groan behind the large door.

"What?" A few grumbles, "It's one in the morning! What could possibly be going on at this time! I'm trying to get so-" The door swung open, "...Rechar-... Kadence?"

He knelt, holding out his index finger so she could steady her overheating body on it. She was becoming dizzy from the heat. The girl looked up, "Hi."

"Are you alright?" he nudged his palm under her thighs, and she complied, sitting down on the larger servo. He brought her up, "Scans show you're temperature is above average."

"It's so hot," she whined, leaning her head heavily on his curled finger. It was too hot. It made her nauseated now. Kadence scrunched her shoulders, "I think I'm gonna throw up."

And with those words that have been repetitively used among the sick, Ratchet brought her over to a trash bin and let her lean over it. He rubbed her back. The bile quickly rose in her throat, and immediately came out. She purged her stomach in a concerning mixture of colors. Some of it containing red. Ratchet frowned, "Apparently your body is trying to expel some of the excess blood, since it is replacing it with energon to become accustomed to me..."

"Make it stop," Kadence rasped from the trash can. She spat out saliva, hoping to rid her tongue of the horrible taste of the vomit. The putrid scent reached the medic's olfactory sensors, he ignored it. The only thing that mattered was his daughter, not some measly smell.

"I don't think I can," he said, continuing to softly stroke her arched back, "The energon is trying to take over and balance your body. It's an equilibrium it's trying to maintain. If it becomes fatal, I'll make a move."

She groaned, a hand placing itself onto her stomach and clenching itself into a fist.


	25. Eventually It'll Die Down

**Chapter 24**

 **"Eventually It'll Die Down"**

 _June 23, 2007_

Ironhide used his finger to tilt Kadence's head up, he pressed a cloth to her nose and kept it there, placing his free hand on her forehead to keep her in place. The holoform frowned as he examined the red cloth, "This is a lot of blood."

"It's still going," The red head murmured, moving her head further back to keep the blood from trailing out of her nose.

The poor guardian thought he hit his charge on the nose during their spar, their _careful_ spar, since Kadence still has her sprained wrist. He was molding that into her training and had her use only one hand. In the middle of the match, she felt faint and a trail of blood flowed out of her nose. Ironhide sighed, discarding the cloth and grabbing a new one, gently holding it under the girl's nose, "Let's get to Ratchet."

She nodded, letting him place an arm over her shoulders to direct her, even though the red head was fully capable of walking herself. It was a quiet walk, the previously cream white hand towel became crimson red, darker than the girl's hair. She scowled, _there goes that towel._

Minutes passed before they found the med bay, walking in without more than a knock. Ironhide led Kadence over to the fluorescent yellow medic, who was waiting. _Ironhide must've told him through the comm link._ Ratchet grabbed a new cloth and placed it on her still runny nose, quickly catching the blood before it dripped anywhere.

He performed a scan and hummed, "Her body is trying to find new ways to expel the extra blood," The medic handed the girl another cloth, the blood was slowing. "Kadence, are you close to your cycle?"

She nodded wordlessly.

"Hmm... It might release the blood during that as well. Expect a lot," he eyed her, watching as her expression dropped.

"How long is this supposed to last?" She said, inspecting the cloth she had taken away from her nose before the question. Her nosebleed was coming to a stop.

"I'd say, with the amount of energon in your systems," he paused, thinking it over, "Give or take a week."

Kadence groaned, _well... at least it's not longer, like a month or two._ She placed the towel next to her once the bleeding officially stopped. The girl placed a finger on her temple, a headache was coming. And fast. The room was already beginning to spin. She just wanted to lie down, she felt light headed.

"Kadence, are you alright?" Ironhide stepped forward, "You look pale."

"She just needs rest," her father said, "Do you want to stay here to rest or go to your room, Kadie?"

The red head mumbled incoherent words before simply groaning and lying down, placing a hand on her forehead. Now her head hurt, this headache came quicker than she anticipated.

Ratchet's bipedal mode carefully scooped her up, concerned that he earned no reaction. The medic gently deposited her onto a human bed, placing the blanket over her exhausted body. Her chest rose and descended evenly. She had fallen asleep.

* * *

 _Kadence glanced around, it was dark. Shapes were subtly forming around her. They looked foreign. No... alien._ _They were a series of curves, squiggles, jagged lines, circles, you name it, all spread out around her and were becoming a light blue. They glowed in the cold darknes, the girl watched as they seemingly pulsed, like like a heart._ _Blue eyes appeared in front of her, she stumbled back and began falling onto her back, but made no contact with the ground._

 _A faint word was whispered, it said..._

* * *

Kadence jolted awake, wide eyes staring at the dark ceiling. The lights were off, but she could see that the ceiling was far above her. _Am I still in the med bay?_

The girl tried recalling her dream, _there were symbols, too complex for me to remember... And that word... what did they say?_

The more she tried remembering, the farther it went. And soon selle completely lost it. With a frustrated sigh, she turned over and shut her eyes, entering a restless sleep.

But...

It was interrupted by a queasy feeling in her stomach not even two hours later. It was three in the morning, almost four.

Kadence stumbled out of bed, reaching for the bathroom and trying to swallow the bile to keep it from coming out onto the floor. She kneeled over the bowl, previously lifting the lid. The girl emptied her contents, mainly a dry heave besides the blood flying out.

A hand grabbed her hair and placed another on her back, rubbing soothing circles that magically calmed her stomach. Kadence recognized the black army boot as Ironhide's, _he stayed?_ Spitting out a few more times, she took her head away from the toilet, letting Ironhide flush it for her. She leaned against the wall behind her, "Did you get any sle- recharge?"

"...No. I was watching over you."

The red head was too weak and tired to argue that he needs his rest. She settled for placing her head against his chest as a silent gratitude for staying with her. It was definitely not pleasant to go alone.

He looped his arms around her waist and pulled the girl to him, her back against his chest. Her cheek rested on his shoulder before she repositioned so she sat under his chin. Her stomach performed flips, whether that be because of the energon or the position, she will never know.

Kadence fell asleep in his arms. Before drifting off, she felt her guardian carry her back to bed.

* * *

She once again, awoke to a queasy feeling in her stomach. Kadence also felt something wet on her forehead, not bothering to open her eyes to investigate. She felt like shit and wanted to stay asleep, where she couldn't feel her sickness.

Finally deciding to open her eyes, she noted that it was dark. And that loyal blue eyes stared right back at her, _Ironhide?_ Had he really not gotten _any_ recharge?

It felt like a memory, when she had gotten up to purge her stomach. Kadence could barely remember anything, except his arms when she slept... A warmth spread across her face, and it took the girl a moment to realize she was blushing.

Ironhide took it as the blood rushing to my head, getting ready for a nosebleed or another dry heave.

Throughout that entire day, he stayed there at her bedside. Ironhide even declined a mission to jack up some spotted rogue Decepticons, and he never does that.

Kadence realized his true loyalty to being her guardian. Her lips pulled up into a smile.


	26. Reaching Out

**Chapter 25**

 **"Reaching Out"**

 _June 25, 2007_

"Easy does it," Ironhide had placed his hands on her waist, helping the girl get down from his monstrous alt. mode.

Kadence was still sick, and was being moved to her room in the NEST base. She turned her head and offered a tired smile as soon as she stepped off.

The Autobot led the girl to her made bed. Without a care, Kadence fell onto her stomach, face first into her pillow, all the while ruffling her blankets. The girl groaned, realizing that she had unsettled her stomach.

A weight shifted the bed, Kadence didn't bother looking, she knew it was Ironhide. He placed his hand flat on her back, rubbing soothing circles. Kadence stayed still, worried that if she'd move, he'd stop.

Minutes passed on in a calm, comforting silence, Kadence's guardian had lied down next to her on his side, pulling his charge to his chest, now rubbing tiny circles on her stomach with his index finger.

His chest rumbled against her back, breath tickling her neck as he spoke, "Your siblings, _adopted_ siblings, are going to Lennox's a couple days after you return," he carelessly muttered. Ironhide shifted and whispered into her ear, "I can't wait to meet them."

Kadence knew the Autobot had a soft spot for children, or as they call them, sparklings. His breath sent a chill up her spine, she closed her eyes.

"Am I going to be going home as planned?" She slightly turned her head as to not bash him in the face.

Ironhide softly smiled and moved his finger to stroke her cheek. He wasn't looking directly into her eyes, instead, watching his index finger brush over her skin, and quietly said, "Hopefully," The Autobot looked up into her eyes, "If not, we can arrange a time to visit, yeah?"

"Yeah," she murmured, settling her cheek on his. The girl let out a deep breath, closing her eyes and hoping sleep would take her away from her queasy stomach.

It did.

Ironhide had led her recharging frame back onto her bert- _bed_. Her eyes were closed, steady breaths entered and left her nose, causing her stomach and chest to rise and fall.

The Autobot slung an arm over the girl waist after repositioning himself next to his charge, staring at her peaceful face. Humans looked different when they're asleep, he assumed it was only because of the emotions running through them during the day.

Ironhide was no longer doubting that he had feelings for her.

There was just no way with how far their relationship has grown. He always wondered what Kadence thought, and if she was thinking the same. Did she yearn for him every time he was gone like he did?

Ironhide placed his hand on her chest, feeling her spark. There was no such thing. She had a beating heart, and it was at a smooth pace.

 _Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum._

He continued to feel the pounding of the muscle. It was an odd concept of how, instead of their souls, a simple organ sat there, pumping blood. It was much unlike a spark, yet it was similar at the same time. It's was kept them alive, as well for Cybertronians with sparks.

 _Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum._

The rhythmic beat kept going, it was endless. Ironhide very much enjoyed that, it was calming to him, in a way. It just felt right with her here, heart beating away. Was she supposed to have a spark instead, or as well? What was the energon trying to do, other than expel blood?

 _Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum._

The Autobot closed his eyes, letting the lullaby of her heart welcome him into his recharge cycle.

It wasn't until then, that Ironhide realized that he had fallen in love with a human... A half human, half Cybertronian.

* * *

 _June 26, 2007_

Morning came, and Kadence announced she was hungry, much to the relief of Ratchet. Before, she didn't even want food, nor anything to drink. It was just sleep and purge for her.

The girl opted for something simple and had a banana. Odd choice, since Will noted she doesn't eat the fruit very often, but informed the rest that it was easy on the stomach.

Later on, her appetite grew and had a bowl of oatmeal.

Kadence was now sitting outside, eyes closed and hair loose, blowing in the calm wind. She counted her breaths, up to four in and out. Ironhide had to attend a meeting with Prime, "a short one," he had assured. It has only been ten minutes.

The girl was enjoying herself, she always loved being outdoors with nature. Quickly learning that Optimus loved it as well, she tried to purposely get some fresh air with him, and he'd ask questions or comment on the beauty of nature. They haven't done so in a while, ever since Kadence became sick.

A shadow interrupted her peaceful thoughts and she glanced to her right to see Jazz, holding a plastic cup in his hand with a spoon in the other. He offered a smile, "Yogurt?"

"Greek?" She smiled when he confirmed it, and took the container with a thank you. She slowly ate the yogurt, scooting over to let Jazz get settled on the bench she sat on.

"'Hide s'almost done wit th'meetin'," The girl nodded, "I'd say a couple min 'r more."

They sat in silence after that, enjoying the sounds nature brought them. Birds sang, leaves rustled, wind blew. It was beautiful here, and Kadence only hoped it'd be even better at the actual NEST base.

Another ten minutes passed, Ironhide still hadn't returned just yet. Her stomach was becoming unsettled again, _was it the yogurt?_ No... it's not supposed to make your stomach queasy. Was the energon continuing its move? ...Will it cease to cause her pain?

Only time will tell.


	27. Still There

**I hate it when I read over my chapters and see a bunch of mistakes that I know I can't fix 'cause I don't have the chapters online. Like chapter 8, I accidentally wrote chapter 9.**

 **ugh**

 **Oh, and remember: Cybertronium = Transformium (Bay decided he wanted to change the name in TF4 -_-)**

* * *

 **Chapter 26**

 **"Still There"**

 _June 27, 2007_

"Alright, I'll just have to put the sample in here and..." Ratchet placed the syringe of blood in the test machine and began the process. The CMO had decided that scanning directly was less effective then scanning with an enhanced machine. Minutes passed of them patiently waiting and it finished, Ratchet hummed at the results, "Twenty-nine percent energon."

Kadence nodded, rubbing her side where there was, no doubt, a forming scar. She had completely forgotten about her wound there up until this morning when it was becoming itchy. The girl watched as Ratchet wrapped up his tests, "I take it I'm not going back any time soon?"

"...Do you want to?" Ratchet glanced at her, subtle hurt in his voice.

"W-... Well, no. But yes," she sighed, shoulders sagging, but her hand still scratching her side, "It's not easy having two families."

The medic took three large steps towards Kadence and lifted her shirt, noting how the wound has been irritated, "I hear you," he skimmed a finger over the mostly healed cut, "This is healing nicely."

"Yeah but it's itchy," she said, lifting her elbow to see it for herself. It was a red mark on her side, the skin puffed out a bit.

"You're lucky the shrapnel hadn't touched your T-cog. Primus knows how difficult it is to repair those," he muttered.

The girl inhaled, "How many Cybertronian parts do I have?"

"You were born with a T-cog. And instead of medullary cavities, marrow and the spongy bone, you have metal. In simpler terms, the insides of your bones are made of Cybertronium, the metal we're made of," he places a hand on his chest, referring to himself as this kind of metal, "Your senses are more sensitive than that of the average human, though they still seem to be improving. Your body seems to be developing other Cybertronian aspects, such as even more enhanced senses, a CPU, or what we call a processor, I don't know where that'd fit in your head though. A spark could be a possibility.

"Who knows."

He shrugs, but Kadence quirked a brow, "You?"

"Okay, well. Look," he chuckled, "I don't know _everything_. You're free to go."

She didn't want to, but that was Ratchet's _non_ violent dismissal. Kadence slid off the table and headed for the door, bidding her father a quick farewell. She wandered the halls until she found someone she recognized. This time, it was Jazz.

"Hey, lil' lady," he greeted, waving a quick servo before continuing to walk down the hall.

She laughed, "Wait, Jazz!" The girl ran afterafter him, he turned and lowered a servo for her to climb on. She smiled at his visor covered face, "What's going on? You need to go somewhere?"

"Yeah, act'lly," her brother raised his visor, blue eyes staring into Kadence's, "A new 'Bot jus' entered th' atm'sphere, 'm goin' t' wait wit' th' rest."

She perked up, "Really?"

"Yeah, got word it's a medic, a field medic, like Ratch," his lipplates lifted up into a smile, "A young apprentice."

Kadence gave him a questioning look, "You know this much, but not their name?"

"Heh, wanted t' keep th' suspense. His name's Jolt."

* * *

They've been waiting for a good two hours before Optimus and Ironhide returned with a blue Chevy Volt tailing them.

 _Jolt is a Volt,_ Kadence mentally mused, smiling to herself.

The three transformed, Prime stepping forward to introduce the small blue Autobot, he was considerably short, however, taller than Jazz. Optimus stood proudly at his own height, "Everyone, I'd like to welcome our newest recruit, Jolt."

"Finally!" Ratchet said, throwing his servos up into the air as he walked in, "A student that can keep up with me."

He grumbled on about how other Autobot medics couldn't learn what he teaches, but apparently Jolt has been under his wing before.

The blue field medic had a visor that covered his forehead, and it didn't look like it retracted. His cerulean blue optics jumped around calmly on each human, his eyes momentarily paused on Kadence. _Is he scanning everyone?_ He had both front and rear tires make up his thighs along with the side windows, the fenders for his heel. There wasn't much of his blue paint job showing, he had thin armor that left some areas unprotected. His hands, servos, were made up of three fingers in a skill crane like way.

Her stomach felt a little unsettled, her head feeling light.

The girl made a few long strides over to Ironhide, who watched as she approached. He lowered a servo, _does everyone like carrying humans in their palms?_ She figured it was just so they were eye level.

"Everything okay?" The Autobot closely observed the human in his servo, seeing how she had placed a hand on her stomach.

Not good.

Kadence swallowed, "Can you take me to my room?"

Definitely not good.

He transformed down, the girl ending up in his passenger seat. Ironhide immediately began driving out of the hangar, heading towards his charge's quarters.

Once they got there, he unbuckled her and opened the door. Kadence stumbled out, making a bee line for her bathroom. Hand clenched on her stomach, the girl lifted the lid and emptied its contents.

All her guardian could do was comfort her, rubbing her back in a soothing manner and supporting her weight.

Never would he leave his charge, he vowed.


	28. Honest Confessions

**The trailer for TLK comes out December 16! Two weeks from now, who's excited?**

 **Also, check out my Instagram (Vodid) or Twitter (RCJ_Vodid) for a drawing of Optimus that took me five hours yesterday, and Ironhide/Ratchet drawing that took four hours today.**

 **ALSO my drawing of Ratchet and Ironhide got RETWEETED BY THE OFFICIAL TRANSFORMERS PAGE like HOLY SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS :D**

* * *

 **Chapter 27**

 **"Honest Confessions"**

 _June 28, 2007_

Ratchet finished up, "You have lots of injuries..." He muttered as his holoform wrapped the last bit of bandage around Kadence's hand, where she had burned it. Her side had completely healed, and her purging was slowly ceasing; she was barely having an unsettled stomach anymore.

The girl hopped off the table, "I'm going home today, right?"

"You're all clear, so yes," his optics lingered on her, it was too soon for his daughter to be leaving. Not entirely because of her injuries, but because his spark is trying to reach to her, as her own spark is developing. Parental codes would activate soon enough, and his protective side would most likely kick in the moment she leaves.

"Okay," Kadence smiled and walked towards the door, intending to make her exit. It took her a few strides before reaching out to open the door.

Ratchet stopped her, "Kadence?" She turned, giving him her attention, "What... What ever happened to Jasmine?"

The girl froze, eyes clouding and starting to doze off...

 _The sound of screeching tires nearby filled the girl's ears before the car was sent off its course on impact to a t-bone._

"Um..."

 _She tried to scream. But nothing was heard from the girl's mouth._

Same for her mother.

Kadence looked down, letting her hair fall over her face to hide her face.

"Kadie?" Ratchet asked, worried by her reaction. His voice softened, "What happened?"

"I... I don't know. There was a car accident when I was four," picking up her head, the girl looked at her father, "Some tell me she died on impact, others say at the hospital... no one actually told me what happened to her."

The medic looked down, despair overtaking his features. Another femme that meant everything to him lost. Gone.

"-chet... Ratchet?" Kadence's empty blue eyes brought him back. He tried so hard not to show that he was upset, ultimately failing. In response, his daughter walked to his holoform, hugging him as tightly as she could, and whispered, "It's okay."

She was only a couple inches shorter than Ratchet, topping at six almost one. Hesitating, the medic wrapped his arms around his daughter and buried his face into her shoulder, accepting the comfort offered.

It was a moment of silence for the two before Kadence began softly muttering...

No... _Singing_.

Ratchet stiffened as he remembered the tune; it was a song Jasmine always sang to Kadence. A lullaby of sorts.

He tightened his arms around his daughter, as if he'd lose her as well if he let go.

 _The holoform of Ratchet_ _walked aimlessly on the sidewalk, eyes looking at each building in town._ _He nervously glanced around at the humans who walked with a purpose. Envying them, he straightened his posture and continued onwards... to nowhere._

Ratchet sharply breathed in as his own memories resurfaced.

 _"Excuse me?" A feminine voice called to him, he turned in response and was met with a human femme, slightly taller than what was considered average. She had black hair, green eyes, olive skin. The woman smiled, "Are you lost?"_

 _The Cybertronian-in-disguise shook his head in disbelief, "Appears so. Can't say I've been here before."_

He let out a shaky breath, trying to push down the memories.

 _"I can help you out," she smiled, white showing through her lips._

Kadence pulled away, trying to shake off her own nostalgic thoughts away. She smiled, Ratchet tried his best not to think of Jasmine for they shared the same features, and walked towards the door, "I'll see you later, Ratch."

The girl stepped out and leaned against the wall of the corridor, shoving her face in her hands and taking in a large, uneven breath, more like a sob.

Meanwhile, inside the med bay, Ratchet sat at his desk and buried his own faceplates into his servos. Never had he thought about why Kadence was calling Lennox her father, or why he had never seen Jasmine.

She was dead.

Both realized this, and took it in. Letting it sink deep. It was a heavy blow for both of them, having a loved one lost.

Kadence was all Ratchet had, besides Jazz, who wasn't even all that close to him. Whereas Kadence had a family, three. There were the Bluett's, Lennox's, and Ratchet's.

Deciding to move on, the girl pushed herself off the wall and down towards the barracks, where she would gather her belongings and leave for home, to the Lennox's and her siblings.

* * *

"Ready to go?" Ironhide transformed and had activated his holoform, placing his charge's belongings in the backseat while she silently climbed into the passenger seat. Not a word was said from her, it was unusual. Ironhide eyed her as he moved the driver's seat back in place and sat in it, "You okay?"

She nodded, pursing her lips, but otherwise staying quiet.

"Is it your stomach?" His charge shook her head, "...Then what is it?"

"Nothing," Kadence said, no voice coming out. She merely mouthed the word with no sound.

Ironhide was becoming concerned, "...Kadence?" She didn't look at him, "I'm not leaving this spot until you tell me."

The girl turned to him, and he tried not to react at the despair and sadness swirling in her eyes, her face otherwise neutral. It reminded him of when Bumblebee was captured by Sector Seven. She shook her head, "Memories."

"...You can tell me if you want," he said, immediately regretting it. She sharply shook her head and shut her mouth. Ironhide cursed himself for that move, but drove out of the base.

A couple of hours passed, all of it silent. Ironhide had tried turning on the radio to Kadence's favorite station, some songs he knew she liked didn't invoke a reaction. Her expression only subtly dropped. The Autobot stopped trying afterwards.

Kadence was grateful, but she just couldn't shake the grief filling her. She has to force it down when she gets home, which should be in about five minutes, judging by where they are.

It wasn't easy getting over losing her mother, now she has to deal with it again after so many years of ignoring it?

The girl flinched when something wet touched her cheek, she hesitantly brought a finger up to touch it and examined the liquid on her hand. Tears. She was crying?

Ironhide immediately pulled over, watching as Kadence teared up as she continued to stare at her finger that held a tear, she was lost in a trance.

Unbuckling himself, the Autobot leaned over the console and pulled his charge into his chest, she turned in response and threw her arms around him, letting out the awaiting tears. What had gotten into her, what happened? Her guardian was alarmed at her reaction, but nonetheless wanted to protect her from whatever demons were haunting her.

He rubbed her back and unintentionally relayed back the message she gave to Ratchet, "It's okay."

 _The small six-year-old girl beamed at the two adults, the woman had a hand under her pregnant stomach while her other was holding her husband's._

 _They smiled back. The man crouched and spoke, "Hey there, kiddo. What are you doing at a place like this?" He was referring to the adoption center, "How would you like to come home with us?"_

 _Her smile grew wider, stepping forward to hug the man she later knew as Dad._


	29. Organic Robots

**The idea of crystal gardens wea borrowed from the lovely fanfic, Story of a Lifetime.**

 **I'm only getting reviews from two people (I thank you guys), but is everyone else enjoying the story thus far? I'd love to hear your thoughts, even if the review is short... it helps me with typing up the chapters.**

* * *

 **Chapter 28**

 **"Organic Robots"**

 _June 28, 2007_

Ironhide pulled into the gravel driveway, previously sitting at the same spot on the side of the road to let his charge cry.

Kadence jumped out of the TopKick, letting the door close under her palm. Ironhide's holoform followed the girl to the Lennox's door, where Kadence opened it and stepped inside, holding the screen door open for her guardian. She was immediately greeted by a weight on her leg.

Kadence chuckled, crouching to pick up her youngest sister by the armpits, Jade latched on like any other child. The eighteen-year-old landed a quick kiss on the little girl's cheek, earning a giggle in return. Sarah walked in with Annabelle in her arms, offering a smile which was gladly returned by Kadence.

Ironhide watched as his charge set down her sister, who ran to join her brother and sister on the couch. The red head quickly walked over and hugged her other two siblings, one around around each shoulder and pulling them together. As she pulled away, she ruffled Kai's hair and playfully tugged Joanna's medium-length hair.

Kadence gestured to her guardian to follow her, and then ordering her two dogs to calm down, mainly an over excited Pepito.

Glaring at the giant rodents, the holoform walked briskly behind the red head. Kadence led him upstairs to an unfamiliar room he doesn't remember ever being in.

It looked like a regular bedroom; bed, dresser, mirror, closet, desk, with a few additions such as an eighty-eight key piano, a couple guitars, a violin propped up on the wall by a stand, there were a few other acoustic instruments lying around the room. A couple microphones sat on top of a closed Dell laptop, which was charging and hooked up with other cords. The walls were painted a Caribbean blue, carpet a light beige, almost grey.

Ironhide hummed in interest, Kadence definitely lived up to her name when it came to music. He watched as she smoothly organized her desk, "Forgot I was arranging music when I left," sighing after the papers were in a neat stack, she moved to whatever instrument that was out.

Ironhide continued to watch, "You seem very interested in music," Kadence confirmed his statement with a hum, "Just like Jazz and his carrier..."

"You met his mother?" she opened the closet and placed her guitar and the case it was in inside.

The holoform nodded, "Long before the war, when I was a young mech," he began.

The girl snickered, "And we all know that was a very, _very_ long time ago."

He glared at her tease, but continued nonetheless, "She and I met when I was stuck guarding Prime. The femme was too into music, visited Praxus one day for the crystal gardens. The city was bombed during the performance."

Kadence didn't know what to say, they were in silence until a question appeared in her head, "What are 'crystal gardens?'"

Ironhide paused, gathering his thoughts before opening his mouth to speak, "Crystal gardens were more of a Praxian tradition than anything, grown to create music. They're literally crystals, movement and touches generate a ringing noise from the roots to the tip. Praxians used them to create music and give performances.

"What did we come here for anyway?" He questioned, watching as Kadence closed her closet after everything was in order, she turned to him and smiled.

"We're gonna spar," she said, cockiness lacing into her nonchalant voice. Shrugging, she brought out tape to wrap around her knuckles, "I just wanted someone to talk to as I did this."

Ironhide took a large step forward and placed his palm over her hand, stopping her from wrapping it, "Ratchet give you the all clear?"

"Yep," the girl patted her side, "This is all healed and I just have to be careful with my hand."

The holoform nodded, eyes following her hands movements as she wrapped the white tape around her knuckles.

Minutes passed and Kadence finished, holding up her hands to show Ironhide as she walked past him to reach the door, gesturing for him to follow. Complying, her guardian easily kept up with long strides.

"Sarah, we'll be in the back sparring," the girl said as she walked past the kitchen and out the door, Ironhide still on her heel.

Kai perked up and turned from the couch, stopping Kadence, "Can I watch?"

The heads of their sisters turned in interest, the red head glanced to the Autobot behind her, he shrugged, "I don't see why not," Sarah glanced warningly at Kadence, who smiled, "We'll be clean, it's a fair and friendly spar. Come on, kiddos."

All three hopped up from their places and rushed out in front of the two, Kadence holding the door for them. She smirked over her shoulder at the holoform before stepping out.

Once in place, Ironhide rolled his shoulders, "Ready?"

"Whenever you are," she knew this trick. He was trying to get her to go first. Smirking, Kadence slid into a defense position, _not this tim_ _e._

Her three siblings settled themselves on the ground, legs crossed Indian style and eyes intently watching.

Ironhide waited until Kadence had her attention back on him before he striked, throwing a swift fist that Kadence dodged, arms up in defense.

In retaliation, she threw a punch. Ironhide grabbed her hand like it was nothing and twisted her arm, causing Kadence to turn around. She used that to slip out of the grasp, swiveling around to kick his ankle, almost catching him off balance. _How many times had I used this move?_ Ironhide caught on quickly with her attack patterns, jabbing her in the side to throw her off, careful not to hit the same side that was formerly injured. He wouldn't take any chances.

Neither would she.

She swung her leg high and effectively hit her guardian in the ribs. He stumbled and chuckled, "I thought we agreed on no dirty moves?"

"That was _not_ a dirty move!" She said in mock disbelief, he was trying to make that invalid because of their... audience.

"I mean... If you _do_ want to play dirty," he charged forward and caught her arm, twisting it and throwing her to the ground. He bent down and whispered in her ear, "We can play dirty."

She laughed, _d_ _amn him._


	30. Coexisting Forms

**Next chapter is the last of Kadence, then ten chapters of Kardiness!**

 **I had the story planned out until the very end... Don't know what I'm gonna do now that TF5 goes a whole different direction than what I was thinking. Oh boi, should I still do it? (even though it's so far away)**

* * *

 **Chapter 29**

 **"Coexisting Forms"**

 _June 28,_ _2007_

"Oh, what about that one?" she pointed at a star that just began to form over the darkening sky.

Ironhide hummed, he was in bipedal mode, sitting on the grass next to his charge, craning their necks to see the sky, "I do believe that it is one of the stars in Orion's belt."

Kadence nodded, she scooted closer to his metal leg when a gust of wind blew straight at her, attempting to use his leg to shield her. It wasn't all that cold, but it did make her slightly chilly in the short-sleeved shirt she wore, along with capris.

In response, Ironhide moved his servo next to her. A kind gesture.

The red head took this moment to look at her guardian's servos. For a mech his size, he'd probably have large fingers. But instead, he has coniderably smaller and slimmer fingers than what she was expecting. It threw her off with whether or not he really was muscled or it was just his armor offering all that bulk.

She placed a hand on his palm, relishing in the warmth it gave her. Kadence scooted closer to his servo, where it was warmer than the armor on his leg.

Ironhide scooped her up and held his charge just above his chest, where he could easily keep her away from the cold. It didn't feel like there was much, but Cybertronians were never ones for feeling. They were more emotional than driven by touch.

The holoforms were a massive change for them, their senses were slightly dulled, but Ironhide had to commend the organics for being highly sensitive at the same time. It was odd feeling so much, but hearing, seeing and smelling less. Taste sensors were heightened. Sight was a whole 'nother story; their vision was clear, no HUDs or alerts, not even scanners. Hearing was limited as well. The Autobots knew humans were emotional as well, just as much as they are. And that drives them to their own wars the same way that of Cybertronians.

Ironhide prays they will not destroy their planet, but it seems they are well aware they've already fragged up their world in more ways than one.

Kadence shifts around in his servo, scooting closer to his chestplates, where his spark chamber lies beneath. It was the warmest area of his frame, much similar to humans. The Autobot moved his servo closer to his chest, allowing his charge to lean up against it.

Human anatomy was odd and extremely foreign to the Autobots. They didn't have sparks and thus could not hold mental bonds, but they did have ceremonies for joining together as soulmates. Another factor was the way their bodies tried to keep warm; blood moving towards their torso and leaving mainly their fingers and toes cold. It made sense, they wouldn't die if they lose them.

The way their frames are, is a difficult concept to grasp overall. Sure, they looked similar to Cybertronians; two legs, two arms, head, torso. But they were made in a complete different way. And the way they look is... interesting, to say the least.

At first, Ironhide was fine with it, ignored it. He saw them as inferior. Something he shouldn't concern himself with. Then he met Kadence and that all turned upside down.

She was, in fact, a Cybertronian femme. Not physically. And, naturally, he is attracted to her. The girl has her own small and faint energy field he can brush up against, though no response is given. She must not know how to control it yet.

Speaking of, her energy field flared. She must be concerning herself with danger if it's reached his field so harshly.

"Will I be metal?" she placed a hand on his chest, "Like you guys?"

Humans see the Cybertronians the same way they see them. Alien, foreign, etc. So there was one obvious connection between the two species.

"Possibly," he looked down at her, his optics meeting with hers, "But you already are metal."

The girl sighed, "I know, I just mean like... Would I be in a metal frame?"

He shrugged, really not having the answer for her, "We'll have to wait and see."

She placed the side of her head against his chestplates, hand placed flat next to her face ad shoulders just below.

Though not ones for touch, Cybertronians have very intimate gestures used. Including the touching of chestplates, _certain_ plates that are directly covering the spark chamber. Usually the touch is used by berthmates when asking permission inside to share sparks.

Ironhide knew that was not what Kadence was intending, but he couldn't he but find her innocence... cute. He was never one for using that word, but there was no other to describe it.

He cupped his servos around his charge to shield her from the wind.

She has so much to learn.

* * *

 _"So... has it happened yet?"_ Jazz teased over the phone, Kadence rolled her eyes even though she knew he couldn't see her.

She replied curtly, "I don't know what you mean."

 _"You and 'Hide!"_

The girl choked on her words, momentarily glancing at the holoform lounging on her couch, "What are you implying?"

Her brother chuckled, _"C'mon, ya know what I mean. We've been waitin' for you two t' join."_

"And who exactly is 'we?'"

 _"Th' Autobots and I, and th' humans... basically all of NEST,"_ Kadence could just imagine a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, _"You two obviously like each other, ya just being oblivious t' it."_

She bit her lip, _there was no way Ironhide shared the same feelings_ , Kadence glanced at the holoform once more, his arms were hung over the back of the couch, _why do I feel like I've been over this before?_

 _"Kadie?"_ she responded with a hum, _"Why don't ya ask?"_

"Um... no," she softly laughed, "No way am I doing it first."

Jazz laughed as well, _"Aight, I'll see ya later. Patrol's a bum."_

They said their goodbyes and hung up, Kadence walking to the living room and sitting next to Ironhide, who spared her a glance before turning his attention back on the TV. The girl couldn't care less about what was on, she stared blankly at the screen.

The holoform next to her shifted, moving his arm to her shoulders where he pulled her closer and rested his cheek on top of her head. Silence greeted them.

There was no way he _didn't_ share the same feelings.


	31. Killjoy

**To the guest that reviewed (on both SSU and Aftershock), that's a good idea! I've personally seen the Blue Angels a few times when they flew directly over me in formation. :)**

 **Happy Holidays!** **I'm so ready for 2016 to be over.**

 **Next chapter, we're back with Kardiness. We'll he returning to Kadence on chapter 42, and don't you _dare_ ask me when we're coming back because I continuously state this in A/Ns, but apparently. No one reads them. xD**

* * *

 **Chapter 30**

 **"Killjoy"**

 _June 28, 2007_

It was late at night, Kadence found herself dozing off. Typical, since she pulled an all nighter earlier watching the stars.

Ironhide turned down the volume on the TV, entertained by crime shows as well as the weight on his shoulder growing heavier as his charge leaned down to get comfortable. He watched as she closed her eyes, head resting on his collar.

The Autobot couldn't turn his attention back onto the TV, captivated by the soft energy field the human gave off. It was marvellous how she was so oblivious to it, letting off emotions he could easily sense through much practice of using energy fields for interrogation, it's sharpened his senses.

It wasn't something like an aura, it was more of a _smell_. Ironhide was always the one to "sniff" out Decepticons, used countless times and he's commended for the ability.

The Autobot looked down at his charge, who had officially fallen asleep, judging by the even breathing and dampened energy field.

He sighed through his nose, she'd have to be moved to her bed. Ironhide stood, careful not to disturb the sleeping girl, he glanced at the guest room, where her siblings slept. If he made any noise, the children would surely come looking for the source.

Kadence's body was lifted in his arms bridal style and the holoform crept to her room, skillfully opening the door and depositing his charge into her bed. He tucked her in, staying a few minutes before dismissing his holoform for his own recharge cycle.

* * *

 _June 29, 2007_

Kadence rose from her blankets, feeling the lingering fatigue draw her back down into the comfortable bed.

It was around noon, she noted. Her alarm clock read that it was past one. How long had she been awake last night? Eleven, with the added hours of staying up all night the day prior?

The girl rubbed her eyes and swung her legs over the bedside, feet meeting with the floor. She stood after a minute and stretched, earning a few satisfying cracks and pops in her joints.

After eating her breakfast and doing whatever other business there was to do, Kadence was left with not much to do... except for the task of running to town to pick up some groceries.

Her hand landed on Ironhide's passenger door, assuming he was still in recharge since his doors were locked. His engine rumbled to life, a flash from inside and his holoform was staring back at her with tired blue eyes, he rolled down his window, "What?"

"Groceries," she slipped her hand in and unlocked the door for herself, then opened it and hopped in. Once she strapped on her seatbelt, she turned and cheerfully smiled at her guardian.

He blinked owlishly at her before his hands met his steering wheel and he began driving, "I don't know how you're so awake."

It was only a ten minute drive before they entered the town, Kadence pointed at a vacant spot at the curb, "You can let me off here, maybe catch some more recharge," The idea did sound tempting, but he had a job and wasn't about to leave it for some sleep. He shook his head, stating to come with her, only to be stopped, "Ironhide, it's fine."

He leaned back in his seat, "There's no way I'm leaving you alone."

"I'll be okay," she drew out, closing his door behind her. Ironhide made sure he tracked her phone's signal, just in case.

Kadence roamed the streets, trying to get some fresh air. She approached the street the store was on, it was at the end.

The girl turned into an alley as a shortcut to the store. The alley seemed long, but at least it was shorter than going around. It wasn't one of those stereotypical alleys where it's dark and dingy, the buildings are shorter and farther apart, providing lots of sunlight.

But something didn't seem right that made the girl regret her decision, she clutched her elbows a little tighter, getting a strange feeling she was being watched. Probably just someone looking out one of the windows, she assumed, but her reassurance did nothing to change that feeling.

She continued walking, the soles of her feet being the only sound that echoed off the buildings. Kadence looked around, the building to her left was white while the one to her right was regular brick. The buildings looked new, or at least repainted.

The girl didn't bother to check the fire escapes, someone would know they'd be a fire hazard just by standing there.

Kadence turned her attention forwards, stopping with a sharp breath when there was a man standing in her path. She glanced around, seven figures approached.

The eight men wore similar clothes, light grey shirts and dark grey pants. Each one bore different tattoos and scars. They stared menacingly, their black hair covering their eyes that looked... re-

Lost in her thoughts, a pain erupted on the back of her head and she collapses, realizing that she had been knocked out by one of the men behind her. Her vision grew hazy, and finally went black.

With that, she was gone.

* * *

It was irritating... Ironhide was becoming paranoid and impatient the longer the girl took to shop. He was still tracking her phone signal, which had stopped moving. He felt that something was wrong, and the hairs on the back of his holoform's neck rose when it ceased its movement. He tried to reassure himself, to no avail, _s_ _he's probably just texting, or she's at the store,_ it didn't help.

The Autobot couldn't help but feel something was definitely wrong. She was in an alley. He pinpointed the exact location, and just as he retrieved its position, the signal vanished from his scanners. Did she turn off her phone?

Kadence was smart, she wouldn't do something like that.

Ironhide pulled out of the parallel parking he placed himself in and sped down the street towards the last place the phone was seen. He approached the wide alley, parking himself as he drove in. His holoform jumped out of the TopKick and scanned the alley.

No traces of Kadence.

His optics caught onto a small black object on the ground; the phone. It's screen was littered with cracks and it was definitely off, seeing as it was broken.

Had she accidentally dropped it and it broke?

No... The girl would've heard it fall and picked it up. On closer inspection, the phone was _smashed._

Looking for any traces of how this happened, he found small splotches on the ground. They were red and fresh.

It finally settled in.

Ironhide gripped the phone in his hands, staring at the blood on the asphalt. The Autobot let out a strangled yell. He was pissed.


	32. Escalation

**And we're back to Kardiness! Happy New Year and Happy Holidays! :)**

 **Had a bit of a writer's block in this chapter... hope you like nonetheless.**

* * *

 **Chapter 31**

 **"Escalation"**

 _Previously..._

 _"Megatronus Prime, Guardian of Entropy and Warrior of Darkness."_

 _Prima narrowed his optics at that last bit._

 _Vector ignored it and helped the Prime stand, giving the others a better look at his appearance. He was a tall figure, quite possibly taller than Prima and looking almost as old as Micronus. His appearance was quite intimidating, his crimson gaze was threatening and the way he moves is vigorous. Prima hopes Primus hasn't made a bad decision in making a Warrior of Darkness. But the Warrior's job is to keep the darkness of times manageable, not out of whack and uncontrollable._

 _There was but one more left until the Dynasty of Primes is complete. Megatronus is the second to last before the final battle begins._

Kardiness let out a heavy vent, frustrated after the considerably violent spar her twin and Megatronus had.

She frowned when Prima flinched under her servos. Since Onyx was tending to Megatronus, the femme was left to care for her brother. She sent her disappointment through the bond, _"Why hadn't you stopped the fight earlier?"_

No response was given except silence. Prima had averted his optics to the floor when Kardiness gave him a firm lecture. They were considerably low on metal, seeing as most of their resources went into the T-cogs, which they had just installed in the newest Prime.

It had been several orbital cycles since Megatronus arrived, he was warmly welcomed by everyone. Prima was a little bit of a grouch, in her opinion. _I guess it's the whole Warrior of Light and Darkness thing._ Vector Prime currently held the Allspark, deeming himself the most reponsible to keep it, in which they all agreed upon.

No other new arrivals were created. They were going to wait a little bit before officially starting to create.

"Kardiness, how you holding up, love?" Onyx called out to her over his shoulder.

She shrugged, even though she had a feeling he wasn't looking, "Fine," the femme said as she worked out a dent, "The rest should heal on its own, Prima. Now get outta here."

He hopped off the berth and walked right out of the room. Megatronus let out a barely audible growl, the last of his wounds being fixed.

The newest Prime scared Kardiness, in a way. His whole self was portrayed in a violent manner and he was always intimidating. Never had Megatronus sat down and had an actual _talk_ with any of the Primes. Save a couple times with Kardiness.

What confused the femme the most, was that he didn't want an alternative mode. He said he was fine how he was in bipedal and did not want to waste energy on transforming. Also stating that anything could go wrong whilst the transformation.

"You're good to go," Onyx offered a pat on the mech's shoulder to usher him out. He did so without word or acknowledgement.

Both Primes watched him go before turning to each other, "We need to restock."

"Right," he nodded, "We can get the two to do that for us as another punishment."

Kardiness shrugged, "Works for me."

* * *

"Here," Prima said bitterly as he deposited all the gathered materials onto the table. Megatronus waited until the Prime was out of the way to place down his resources.

Onyx laughed, "So how'd it go for you two?"

Both glared at him, Prima grounded out, "We can both agree on something; that we did not enjoy it."

Megatronus growled, he never liked agreeing with someone but the Prime leader was right.

They definitely were not fond of each other.

Kardiness waved them out and them met optics with Onyx, "I don't think they can ever be friends."

"I don't think Megatronus can ever be friends with anyone," he corrected.

The femme nodded, heading towards the door. She walked out, leaving it open for Onyx, who decided to follow.

Her pedes brought her down to the berthroom of the two non-Prime Cybertronians; Jetfire and High Wire. Both were maturing rather slowly, but were going through traditional Cybertronian aging.

The door opened and she greeted them, "Hey you two, want your energon?"

Both sparklings perked up, stopping the game on their datapad and watched as Kardiness prepared two cubes for them.

"They've gotten a little bigger since the last time I've seen them," he ran his servo over Jetfire's helm, who leaned into the touch and smiled.

"I know, it's crazy," she walked over and handed them both their cubes. They both took them quickly, but gratefully, and began drinking it. The femme chuckled, "Careful you two, energon's gotta settle a bit. Drink slowly."

They complied but still eagerly chugged down the sweet pink liquid.

"Whatcha guys playing?" Onyx said, squatting to look at the datapad, which lied flat on the floor. It was a version of a strategy game Vector coded for them to play. It sharpened their tactical skills, as he likes to put it.

So far, High Wire was winning the game.

Kardiness sat herself across Onyx and watched the two sparklings complete the game. Jetfire ended up losing by a slightly lower score, a close call.

"Hey, Onyx," Kardiness said as they walked down the quiet halls.

He hummed, "Yes, love?"

"You ever think about bonding?" she mused, trying not to push the question too suddenly.

The black mech stopped and looked at her, "With you?"

"Yeah," she bowed her helm, trying to hide herself from his burning gaze.

"I do," he says, continuing to walk with a servo around the femme's hip, he flashed a smile at her, "Maybe sometime."


	33. A Hint in the Sky

**I think it's safe to say we're nearing in on a hundred reviews. :D**

 **I got an inch of snow (it melted for the most part), and we're supposed to get three more at seven in the morning!**

 **And first chapter of 2017! Whoop!**

* * *

 **Chapter 32**

 **"A Hint in the Sky"**

The two Primes had decided to go onto the runway, preparing for flight. Both transformed, Kardiness started up her engine and began racing down the road, Onyx running alongside her in his Beast mode with incredible speed.

She lifted off the road, easing into the sky before spiraling straight up, the Prime behind her ferociously flapping his wings.

The roar of her engine filled her with glee, it felt great to be in the air! Feeling the wind slide over her frame, just like Onyx's servo- Kardiness' engine sputtered, losing her balance before steadying herself again. The beast next to her sent a worried glance.

Venting, she tried slowing her flight for Onyx, falling into a slight descent.

The sky was beautiful at this time, the orbit turns the planet towards a far galaxy that was a large strip of many stars in the sky. It was a wonderful sight.

Her optics caught sight of a black dot in the dark sky, it casted a barely visible shadow on the ground below, seeing that it was very high up and possibly just floating below Cybertron's atmosphere.

Kardiness transformed, using her large metal wings to keep her in place, Onyx stopped next to her and tried to find what she was looking for. The femme pointed at the object, "What is that?"

"I don't know," was what she saw in his posture, since he couldn't speak in beast mode. He cautiously looked at it, his optics full of warning, but also curiosity. It became clear to her that he wanted to venture out to it.

"I'll check it out," the Prime next to her began to protest, but she cut him off, "If it's dangerous, I can get away easily."

Transforming, Kardiness sped off towards whatever this thing was. It was dark and full of jagged shapes on it. As she got closer, the femme realized that it was large. And noticed it was dormant. Hopefully.

The femme Prime quickly transformed, flinging herself in the air when she realized this was a ship, definitely not theirs, seeing that they don't even _have_ ships that huge. It was almost as big as their base.

Something on the underbelly of the ship moved, turning towards her. Duel long barrels with black abysses in the center. Turrets.

She reeled back and transformed once again, activating her smaller extra thrusters to move quickly, and to maneuver away from the bullets it shot. They glowed purple... was that regular ammunition or lasers?

Whatever the case, whoever or whatever is on that ship is most certainly hostile. Definitely not dormant as she had once thought in her observations.

Barrel rolling, Kardiness sped downwards, to the ground where she could find cover. The bullets followed her, some coming _too close_ to hitting her. One did end up grazing her left wing tip, she grunted and transformed. Her optics found the small burn on her metal, it melted right through her armor. Wings were usually the weak spot anyhow.

Kardiness pressed herself up against a jagged piece of metal that jutted up from the ground, _"Prima!"_ She screamed over the bond, feeling the sudden alarm from her twin at her panic, _"I need help_ now _! Someone's invading!"_

 _"Onyx just arrived, we're coming back."_

 _"They're hostile. Hurry, I'm hit and they won't cease fire,"_ and yet they did. Then she heard the rumbling of their ship's engine, _"They're moving."_

 _"On our way,"_ with that, he dampened the bond.

The ship became louder. Closer. Her venting increased in speed, suddenly scared of what these hostiles want, and what they'll do to obtain it.

Then it became quiet.

Did the ship stop moving or had it gone away?

Kardiness peeked out from her cover and immediately reeled back, it was _right. There._ Right in front of her. Turrets aiming near her general area.

 _Send me to pit and melt me down,_ she cursed, _I sure did get myself in a sticky situation._

The roaring of multiple engines told her the other Primes had arrived. They appeared from behind the jagged piece of metal, slipping in with her, "Okay, it's right there... it could blast right through us with ease if we were to go out there. They have turrets."

"It probably would have been wiser to have chosen a ground mode..." Onyx said, genuinely concerned for the wound on her wing, "But who am I to talk?"

A heavy thud followed by the shaking of the ground startled the few gathered Primes; Prima, Onyx, Micronus and Kardiness herself.

The femme glanced again and saw the end to the ship slowly opening up, revealing what stood inside.

Surrounded by a couple of alien creatures, was a metal frame. A _Cybertronian_ metal frame.


	34. Rewind to Then

**A very interesting chapter indeed... Next chapter will be longer/have more words x_x**

 **Sorry for this late-at-night (for me) chapter, my excuse this time was that I was drawing G1 Sunny and Sides.**

* * *

 **Chapter 33**

 **"Rewind to Then"**

It was decided upon.

"We transfer the energy to this metal cube," he patted the object, "and we'll be able to track their findings, since knowledge can be stored inside."

"When will Primus release the first?"

"In time."

A huff, "Well he's taking too damn long."

"Patience, War."

"Shut it, Wisdom."

"Judges, we must act quickly for I know Primus will have seven Primes."

"Oh, now 'The One' speaks," one taunted, "When will he complete his task?"

"Not long."

'Does he not need the Cube?"

"He does."

"Then why are you saying we are wasting time?"

"Primus can use his own spark energy to create a Prime, but it'll take much energy and will not be able to sustain much more."

"Good."

"No, we need him to build the Primes in order to manufacture more."

"Fine, let's get this show on the road."

"Start it up, ten thousand volts."

A bright flash, and a _zapping_ sound.

"Did it work?"

"Energy levels at nineteen percent, steadily decreasing. Charge it at twenty thousand."

Another light.

"Twenty-eight percent. Slowly declining."

"Forty thousand volts?"

"Yes."

A large, blinding flash and a loud sound.

"Energy levels at eighty-three. Try again."

"Fifty thousand volts, go."

The last time almost threw them across the room.

"Energy levels at a hundred percent. Charge again at fifty to ensure it'll stay as such."

A violent shaking of the floor.

"I think we're good."

"Is it safe?"

"Should be. Energy is mainly contained in the center to keep it secure."

"Alright, send it out into space, directed towards Cybertron."

* * *

"What do you think that was?" Micronus held a servo above his brow, trying to see further; where that flying object had fallen.

Prima shrugged, "Probably just a meteor," he turned away, "Something I wouldn't concern myself with."

"I... I think it fell into the Well," the Minicon leaned back, surprise written all over his face, "Should we get Vector?"

"Leave him be, it's nothing to worry about."

"But, Prima, what if it's a Prime?"

The leader turned his helm to the younger mech, an optic ridge raised, "Primes come from the Well, not the sky."

The newest Prime trotted along with Prima, concerned with what just fell onto their planet, or if it even did. It could have just exited their atmosphere.

He didn't know. But if Prima said to leave it, he'll follow.

Whatever it was, it looked square and large. They would have felt it if it hit the ground, so Micronus passed it.

It was only the third stellar cycle, none of the Primes specifically knew their purpose other than to train for combat and defeat a large opponent as a team of Seven.

"It's nothing of importance, Micronus," the Prime ahead beckoned him forward, "Let it be."

* * *

"Was it a success?"

"We've been waiting a long while to send it out, if it's not succe-"

"Landed right in the Well," he smirked, "The current three probably didn't even see or feel it."

"That's good."

"Think Primus will know what it is?"

"Possibly."

"..."

"..."

"...So, what now?"

"We wait," Primon steadily smiles at the Quintesson Judge.


	35. The One

**HI GUYS! *waves hand in the air frantically***

 **The rest of this school year is a billion exams, but I'm not gonna let that stop me! So I decided to change things up a bit; I'll post the chapters of Aftershock whenever. There's an important A/N at the end of this chapter concerning all the details about what's happening.**

 **I wanna thank DrgRcnGrl for writing Classified. This fanfic is Ironhide/OC, and has inspired me to work on Aftershock this past week as I was reading it. I also want to thank everyone who's stuck with me... and I tried my best to finish up this chapter, but it's that time of the month and it hit me hard, pills aren't working and I think I might be getting sick? Not sure, but I really wanted to get this chapter out.**

 **OH AND HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, AFTERSHOCK!**

* * *

 **Chapter 34**

 **"The One"**

 _Previously..._

 _"Was it a success?"_

 _"We've been waiting a long while to send it out, if it's not succe-"_

 _"Landed right in the Well," he smirked, "The current three probably didn't even see or feel it."_

 _"That's good."_

 _"Think Primus will know what it is?"_

 _"Possibly."_

 _"..."_

 _"..."_

 _"...So, what now?"_

 _"We wait," Primon steadily smiles at the Quintesson Judge._

 _..._

 _A heavy thud followed by the shaking of the ground startled the few gathered Primes; Prima, Onyx, Micronus and Kardiness herself._

 _The femme glanced again and saw the end to the ship slowly opening up, revealing what stood inside._

 _Surrounded by a couple of alien creatures, was a metal frame. A_ Cybertronian _metal frame._

Now...

Kardiness took a cautious step back, ducking behind her cover. She turned to the other three Primes, who were just as shocked as she was, and mouthed, "Who is that?"

"I don't know," Prima whispered, he cautiously glanced around, mainly in the direction of the invaders, "Is he one of us?"

Micronus frowned, "I don't think so."

The frame was slim, primitive even. Barely any armor on the protoform. Any that was there, was a stonewashed dark gray, barely distinguishable from the metal underneath. He had a visor covering his optics, and an elongated piece of metal under his bottom lip, signifying his old age. A staff that matched his armor was held in his dominant servo. His gaze traveled around the area, "See? Now they're hiding from us. I told you not to shoot."

"Well, it was flying in my personal space," the creature's head turned, multiple faces on each side.

Then it twisted around to another face, a different voice, "You think that anything that comes within sight of you is invading your personal space."

The femme Prime gaped at this new organism, it was unlike anything she had ever seen. Multiple tentacles, floated, multiple faces. She counted five so far.

"Judges," the Cybertronian, was it even one? said, "We must find them before they stray too far."

Kardiness backed up, venting, she turned to the others, "They're looking for us... we have to get out of here."

"But how? They're going to see us! We don't know what they're capable of," Onyx whispered, his optics wide in alarm.

"You hear that?" the four Primes froze as someone spoke, "I think they're nearby."

It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were in some deep slag. Onyx was right, none of them knew what these... _aliens_ could do. Maybe they didn't want to hurt them? Or maybe capture them? Kardiness' processor was racing with questions, who were they? What were they? What did they want?

"Call down the drones," the Cybertronian's voice spoke. Not long after, there were many sounds of whirring and the humming of various engines, "Find them."

The sounds spread out, some farther away and some closer. One in particular was too close to their position, Kardiness stopped venting and watched as a round, floating object slowly flew by. A single red lens was on the front, acting as an optic for this "drone." It had little pads on the bottom, allowing it to float as it currently was. Green lasers from below the lens scanned the ground as it moved, looking for them.

Kardiness backed up, pressing into Onyx. Behind them, was another one of these drones, also scanning.

They were trapped.

She frowned, there was no way of getting out. Immediately, plans began running themselves through her processor, she could see Micronus' sharp optics also thinking out something.

If they were to run, where would they go? And surely, they'll see them. If they stay, they'll be found. If they flee back home, ...well, that's just stupid, they'd be leading them straight to where they reside.

Too late, anyhow. One of the drones ran a green laser over them, freezing all of them. Prima cursed under his breath, scowling at the mechanism.

"A-ha," the multi-faced creature said, floating to them, "Primon, we found them."

The Cybertronian hummed, "There should be six. There's only four here."

Wait, Primon? Kardiness gaped, _this_ was the Primon? As in, _the Primon?_ Then that means... That creature is a Quintesson. She frowned, Vector would know more about this than her. But it's not like they can just go and ask... he was in another state.

"Hello," Prima nervously greeted, still locked in his crouched position, "Are you Primon and the Quintessons?"

He was thinking the same, then. The Cybertronian nodded, "It seems you already know who we are? Why is that?"

Onyx was just about to open his mouth before Kardiness smacked a hand over his lipplates, sending him a scathing look. She turned back to Primon, "What is your business here?"

"Oh, young one. You should treat your elder with respect!" he was on the edge of snarling, seeming to hold it back, "Haven't you ever heard to mind your own business?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure it's our business if you're looking for u-" she didn't get to finish as the larger Cybertronian stepped forward, baring his denta.

The femme looked around, nervous, and noticed the many drones surrounding them in a full circle. "A smart one you are... That'll come in handy."

"Wh-"

"Take them down," Primon pointed to the four, then he and the Quintesson stepped back. The drones moved in closer in a tight circle, each pointing a singular green laser at the four.

Then sharp objects shot out from them, and landed on each Prime's neck cables. Kardiness grunted as one particularly decided to bury itself deep into a wire, and almost immediately shut off her processor.

There was no use in fighting it, her sensors had already fallen offline.

* * *

 **Small edits were made in previous chapters, nothing plot bending. Just some minor typo fixing, deleting some page breaks and adding a couple filler sentences, also fixing dates. No changes were made to Kardiness' plot, however. Yet, I'll go over them maybe once school is over.**

 **I will post Aftershock's chapters whenever, but I'll try to keep a steady streak. Maybe every two weeks, on Friday, I update? Whatever works best for me and my schedule.**

 **Stated in my previous AN: (it was added not too long ago, so I'm not sure how many of you have seen it)**

Looking back on my chapters, I know I'm bending history a little here, but **I will NOT be doing the fifth** installment of the Transformers live-action franchise; The Last Knight. It changes what I already had planned for this story, which is why I got stumped a little earlier. I was trying to figure out how I would connect my plot to TLK, so... my solution: do not follow the plot after AOE. I will go AU for a bit, then end the story.

 **So basically, the story will end after Age of Extinction. TLK will not happen. I've had this story all planned out for as long as I can remember, and if I continue it onto TLK, it might become old and used. Plus, with what I'm doing here and now, will not fit into TLK. As many of you know, SPOILERS: The Creator, Quintessa, makes an appearance.**

 **Again, thanks for sticking with me and Aftershock!**


	36. Hail the Creators

**Who remembers Ruthlock from my first fanfiction, New Life? (The baby Cybertronian T-Rex) If you do, props to you! There are baby Dinobots (cough a baby Grimlock) in TF5, how cool is that?**

 **Another fun fact! Kardiness Prime was originally going to be a voice/spirit in Kadence's head, but I had since discarded that idea. Then... I recycled it and came up with Castle of Shards.**

 **And sorry if you couldn't review last chapter... heh, that was my fault (and so so so sorry it took me six months to update... AGAIN) but worry not, I've been feeling motivated as of late, and I finally gathered up the plot again. TLK still has me stumped but I'm getting there. But again, I will not be doing the fifth movie.**

 **AND celebrating THREE YEARS OF WRITING!**

 **Chapter 35**

 **"Hail the Creators"**

It was dark, Kardiness could see the glow of her optics on the cold metal floor. The silence that adorned her audios was deafening. Her whole frame was stiff and cold, lying on the floor wasn't the most comfortable place to recharge. How had she ended up here? Why wasn't she back home with everyone else? In her berth gossiping about the latest development between her and Onyx with Prima?

What had happened?

The Quintessons and Primon did somet... Kardiness bolted upright, _what had they done!_

There were dim biolights that lowly lit the outline of the walls, nothing more.

Where was Prima? The femme Prime felt through the bond, he was alive, but no presence was granted.

Those - "You fraggers better not have hurt my brother! I see _one_ scratch on Onyx or Prima, I _swear to Primus_ I will tear you _apart!_ " She sprung from the floor, screaming up to the ceiling. Kardiness was hysterical, she had no clue where she was or what happened to the others, herself. She was confused. Her fist loudly hit the wall, the harsh noise resounding through the chamber she was locked in, "Agh!"

It was quiet for a long while, Kardiness left to her thoughts that were far too loud for her comfort. Were the others okay? What about Vector and Megatronus?

The femme knew it was beyond dangerous to pull Vector Prime out of the dimensional drift he monitors. It could either tear a hole in space, stop time, or most certainly kill Vector. Kardiness looked up from the floor, she had to get out of this room and find the other Primes.

What did Primon and the Quintessons want from them?

Was it... Kardiness gasped, straightening, was it the Allspark?

Problems hadn't arisen until the Cube came along. Was that it?

She vented, offlining and recalibrating her optics before onlining them again. With her sight now enhanced, the femme began exploring her bare room.

"What's going on here?" Kardiness muttered to herself, walking forward with her arms limp at her sides. Just observing, getting to know her surroundings.

Had the Quintessons and Primon planned this whole thing? Were they ready since the beginning? It was just the start of their race, and it was already being demolished. Or was it? The femme overworked her processor over trying to figure out _what they want_. It was impossible to answer at this stage, she pursed her lipplates, looking up at the seams that split the ceiling from the wall. There were no ventilation shafts or an opening of any kind.

But there was one thing; a large door that was sealed shut.

Walking over to it, she reached out and placed a servo over the access panel. It didn't even power on for her. _Alright,_ she huffed, turning to the door itself, _manually it is._ Kardiness placed a servo on the jagged seam where the two parts of the door split open. They looked like they were shut real tight. Nimble digits slid in the minuscule crack, trying to wedge themselves in between. She had even come close to pulling it apart, for her digits couldn't get a solid grip, before a timbre voice boomed from above.

 _"Do not attempt to get out. Your efforts are in vain."_

Kardiness jumped back, crouching into a defense stance.

 _"You work for us now. Kardiness Prime."_

A shiver was sent up her spinal strut at the deepening of his voice when her name was said. Was this Primon speaking? She could never mistake a voice.

"You can't keep me here forever!" She snarled, throwing her fist and leave a dent in the door, "I work for no one!"

A chuckle stopped her movements, but no time was spent on registering it fully - a small, quick whine being her only warning - before hidden blue biolights lit up on the floor with a cackle of energy with a sharp, sudden shock sent into Kardiness' pedes and up her struts.

" _Agh!_ " Her frame collapsed on the floor, the electrical shock paralyzing all her motor functions temporarily. It sent fire through her energon lines. The tingle of electricity still going through her frame left her groaning, all her joints becoming stiff from being coiled tight.

Something felt to have poked her in the back of her processor. Another presence was sensed, entering her spark. The bond! It became active! A ping was sent over by Prima... he wasn't far.

She had to get to him!

Primon's voice returned, _"It's no use. You will do as we say."_

"Never..." she vented out, grimacing at the high voltage of the shock.

She knew what was coming, if the whine of charging was anything to go by. Everything had lit up in the room when she was first electrocuted, even the control pad sitting mounted on the wall next to the automated door.

Bowing her helm again, she waited.

Kardiness shuttered her optics, counting to three before jumping up from the lit biolights. Leaping towards the access panel and jamming her servo onto it, the large green button on the screen, ignoring the shock running up her pedes as they landed. The door slid open, and she stumbled out, wasting no time before sprinting down the unfamiliar corridor. Primon's voice called out through the chambers as red lights turned on.

But she kept going.

 _"Stop her!"_

"Prima! Onyx! I'm here! Where are you?" She desperately called out, scrambling through the bond with her twin. He was near... left! Her helm snapped to that direction, optics landing on a steel door just like the one she had to pass through.

Kardiness aggressively palmed open the offending barrier charging inside and ignoring the zap of energy hitting her pedes and traveling up to her sensitive wings. Prima cried out in a growl, having been previously brought to his knees, now onto all fours with his palms lied flat on the electrofying floor.

She grabbed her twin under the shoulders and hefted him up, dragging him out of his little prison and into the corridor.

"We have to find Onyx and Micronus," she vented, trying to rid herself of the lasting effects of shocking.

Prima nodded, choking on his vents, "Yeah. Any clue?"

"Nope, but probably in this area," she looked around warily. Their attackers must be farther if they hadn't come barging into the corridor yet.

There were more doors in this hall, there was only two that could have the other Primes. Primon is probably still torturing them, trying to put them in their place.

What an odd tactic, to not recapture the loose twins. Wouldn't they be a danger, a breach in their plans? Maybe they had backups, and knew this might happen and know how to act accordin-

Kardiness collapsed onto her side after feeling a sharp prick to her neck.

What? Was this a... tranquilizer?

Her vision blurred and doubled, her optics blearily catching onto the odd shape of the Quintesson with all its many tentacles that only multiplied with her hazy processor.

In nanokliks, she was offline, along with her twin, who had fallen right next to her.


End file.
